Exceptional Jedi: Chance of Lost Causes
by WindySilver
Summary: Prologue 82 BBY, rest of the story 80 BBY. Arya, after passing Initiate trials, does whatever she just can to become a Padawan. With no ultimate success and only two months to her 13th birthday, she once again crosses paths with Jedova Wang and Degu Odg.
1. Prologue

_82 BBY_

Arya felt satisfied. She had done well with the last one of her Initiate Trials. There was no way the Council would tell that she had not passed it. Now she only had to report to the Jedi Master who was responsible on seeing how it went.

 _Shi-sha..._

Arya stopped. What had that been?

 _Shi-sha..._

It came from a lower level, Arya sensed. She felt the urgency to go and inspect it and she could not stop it. She turned from the way to the Jedi temple and went to the nearest turbolift. She did not know which level the "voice" had come from. She went down along the crowd in the turbolift.

 _Shi-sha..._

The voice was a bit louder now, as she was on the 4892th level. But it came from far lower. A level where normal people would not go even in their worst nightmares. Arya had heard of the horrors which dwelled there.  
"Hey child," asked a female Toydarian. "Where are you going?"  
"To a lower level," Arya answered simply.  
"Why?" the Toydarian asked.  
"I can't explain it," Arya told. She was not lying; she could not explain the "voice" she heard and the urgency to go to its source.

When the turbolift reached 4853th level, the last sentients left and Arya pushed the button 516. She did not know why she chose that one. She trusted that the Force would guide her. The turbolift reached its destination.

 _Shi-sha!_

This was the level. Arya stood out of the turbolift, which then left to upper levels. It was dark, but she could see a little bit even without the Force. Somewhere onward seemed to be some light. Trusting that the Ancients would guard her, Arya walked to the direction of the light.

 _Shi-sha! Shi-sha!_

Arya reached the light. It was a small campfire which lighted two extremely wrinkly human-like figures who turned their empty gazes towards Arya. The girl did not feel any threat from them but stayed on guard, making sure that her training lightsaber was near her.  
"Shi-sha," whispered another one of the figures. This figure sounded like a male.  
"Shi-sha," repeated the other figure with a female voice.  
"Who are you?" Arya asked.  
"Shi-sha," whispered the female. Arya wondered if these two figures could not say anything else, but then the other figure handed a small scroll to her.  
"Shi-sha... Take it..." it was the male figure.  
"You want me to take it?" Arya asked.  
"Take it... Shi-sha..." the figures whispered. The male figure reached closer to Arya with the scroll in opened hands.

Arya hesitated for a moment, but then she approached the figure and took the scroll to her hands. It was made from familiar-feeling leather and there was something inside it. The scroll was tightly shut from every part of it.

The figures suddenly collapsed into dust just as the campfire went out, and Arya backed off. It seemed like the figures had stayed alive only to give the scroll away.

 _Shiiiiiii-shaaaaaaaaaa..._

That whisper was the last one. Arya put the scroll to the space between her two tunics and rushed to the turbolift. She was not supposed to be there.

As she was returning to the temple, she swore to herself to never talk about this incident. Not even to her closest friends like Gomorrah and Qui-Gon.

She was being waited by Jedi Masters Cki and Yoda.  
"The results are ready," Master Cki said. Arya snuffed the question which nearly came out of her.  
"Passed, you have. Chosen as a Padawan, now you can be," Master Yoda told.  
"I passed? I truly passed?" Arya asked. She had been confident, but hearing it being said aloud made her disbelieving.  
"Yes. You passed," Master Cki told. "Congratulations."  
"Thank you!" Arya said, smiling widely.  
"Now go to meditate, you should," Master Yoda reminded her about the daily meditation sessions Jedi Initiates were required to have.  
"I'll do that right away, Master Yoda," Arya said, bowed to the Masters and left to the Room of a Thousand Fountains.  
"Considered taking her as your apprentice, have you?" Master Yoda asked Master Cki.  
"I have. But her familial background worries me. Her connection to her biological family may become a big problem if she continues," Master Cki answered simply. "I am not going to be the one to try to train her."  
"Do, or do not. There is no try," Yoda noted, tapped the ankle of the Besalisk with his cane and left.  
"Fine, then. I will not be the one to train her. Better?" Master Cki asked. Master Yoda did not answer and Cki shrugged, then left to meditate in his quarters.

 **/Author's note: Star Wars (c) Lucasfilm, any characters you cannot find on Wookieepedia, Veledos, Veledosians and their language (c) Me/**


	2. Chapter 1

_80 BBY_

"Please! Can't you even come to give me some tips?" Degu pled. "Please!"  
"Well fine," Jedova sighed. "I'll come. But I refuse to do anything else than give you basic tips."

It had been about six months since Degu's knighting ceremony. The fresh Jedi Knight and the Jedi Master who had trained him had gone to their own ways only to be united again for a short time as the Exhibition Day came, and Degu wanted to get some help on choosing his first Padawan learner. After pleading for many minutes, Degu had finally gotten Jedova to agree on coming with him, even though the Jedi Master stayed adamant on not getting himself involved in it in any other ways than giving basic tips. The elder man had no intents on meddling with his latest apprentice's choices anymore.

There were many Jedi coming to watch the Exhibition Day.  
"I wonder how the younglings will fare," Degu noted.  
"We'll see," Jedova said. It had been ages since he had been a youngling attending the Exhibition day, but he remembered it like yesterday; he had been near his 13th birthday, considered a lost cause by many since he had not been chosen as a Padawan, but he had managed to impress one Jedi over others. That Jedi had been Xurego Odyrogo, a Nautolan Jedi who had lost his voice. Xurego had been considered unable to train Padawans anymore and, in that way, a lost cause too, but he had noticed Jedova. A lost cause had met another lost cause.

It was all due to Xurego that Jedova had ever become a Jedi Knight, even though he never got to see that.

This year the Initiates were split to teams of two which were announced. The names were completely unfamiliar to both Jedova and Degu.  
"Zyctula Claiji and Arya Deinden!" the announcer told. Jedova and Degu both jumped.  
"Arya Deinden? Hey, wasn't that the Veledosian girl you brought here from Kiros back seven years ago?" Degu asked. Jedova looked at the just announced team. The other Initiate was an Ugnaught, but then, next to her, was a human-looking girl with sand-colored hair and determined expression. Even from the distance Jedova could recognize the girl as the same child he had learned to know. It could be no one else.  
"Yes. It is her," Jedova said quietly, surprised.  
"She was five back then. Isn't she 12 now?" Degu mused.  
"It's odd that with her potential she still hasn't become a Padawan," Jedova noted.  
"Now that I think of it, I recently heard some Jedi Masters talking about someone who sounded kinda like her. It seems that those who don't deem Arya's temperament to be too difficult for them, are concerned about her familial background," Degu reminisced.  
"So that's the case," Jedova mumbled and looked at Arya's expression again. He realized that behind the determination must be worry. Worry about not being chosen as a Padawan.

That thought had once haunted his mind, Jedova admitted to himself. It had been a long time ago but he could never forget it.  
"Fooor Ghar and Luhyf Thilikj!" the announcer stated the last team. "The first exercise is balance!"

 _Arya looks confident_ , Jedova remarked to himself. The Initiates had to stand on a very narrow board. Most did not have any problem with it; some seemed to even meditate. Some grew impatient, and the immobile Arya's expression became pained a little bit before the boards began to shake, dropping some down. Arya aided her team mate and nearly lost her balance because of that but was able to recover it in time.

The shaking gradually worsened and more younglings fell. Arya was the last ones to fall.  
"I second what you said, Master. It'll be a shame if Arya doesn't become a Padawan," Degu said. Jedova noticed the interested gleam in his former Padawan's gaze and the warnings of Tribe Seer Ni'Dea rang in his head.  
"Remember to not concentrate on one Initiate only. There may be someone who you can teach better," Jedova noted. He suddenly realized that he was thinking about taking Arya as his Padawan now, and Degu's interest had spiked something like jealousy. _What's going on in my head?_

The last of the exercises was swimming. Jedova, remembering the conflicting things about Arya and her ancestry, paid strong attention to the Veledosian girl.  
"I wonder why Arya has that odd armband on her right arm," Degu noted.  
"Who knows?" Jedova said. He thought about everything he knew about the Veledosian and her people but did not find any good reason for that black armband. But, like Jedova noted to himself, he knew hardly anything about that folk-in-exile.  
"And begin!"

The Initiates jumped into water. Jedova first wondered if Arya had any advantage for being from the tribe of water. Then, as the Force circled between and around them, he sensed that Arya did not enjoy the swimming. _It must be due to her birth element being fire_ , the Jedi Master thought and then realized what he was thinking. It was a thought that had just come without any conscious thinking. Was the Force at work again, trying to guide them?

Arya got into the 3rd place, only bested by a Mon Calamari and a Nautolan, who were both amphibians and thus natural swimmers. Arya got up from the pool, with Zyctula congratulating her for her place. Arya simply thanked, willing to get dry as soon as possible; something in getting utterly soaked made her feel very uncomfortable, and in some way, a little bit weaker.

Then, as the last part of the day, was the lightsaber tournament with the same teams.  
"You know, it would be a shame indeed if Arya would have to leave unchosen," Degu noted. His eyes had been glued to the exercises and he had barely talked anything at all.  
"I know," Jedova noted, worried about the interest Degu was showing. Something made him feel like Arya would not be a good choice for Degu.  
"Let's do our best," Arya said to Zyctula while they took their training lightsabers and bowed to their opponents, the amphibians who had bested her in swimming.

Time passed and the finals came. As the time had gone by, the teams had shattered. Arya felt very confident in her skills; she had made it all the way to the finals. Then she saw her opponent: a Besalisk who was a half taller than she was and a lot bulkier than her. _Oh no!_

Arya remembered how many times Master Yoda had said "Size matters not" in her presence – 46 times – and braced herself, bowing to her opponent. Then she ignited her lightsaber and sprung to attack, keeping her guard up.

The Besalisk's saber met hers and he pushed Arya away. The Veledosian girl let out a surprised shout and spun to her knees, getting immediately up. She had no chance against that strength. _No! This is my last Exhibition! This is not fair!_

Jedova noticed the shocked expression.  
"It seems that she is not going to win this one," he sighed. "Did you see how easily that Besalisk pushed her away like that?"  
"Yeah. He sure is a strong one, especially for his age," Degu noted.

Arya gritted her teeth, returning the determined expression to her face. She was not going to give up like that. She rushed to another attack, now suddenly turning to come from different angle. She was once again pushed away easily by her opponent.

Arya got up again but this time she did not attack again. She just stood and looked at her opponent. She had to get a new strategy. Something more clever than a direct attack.

Besalisk noticed the attempt to form a new strategy and attacked. Arya, knowing she did not have enough strength to parry the attack, started to jump from side to side to avoid getting hit; the match would be over once either of them would manage to touch their opponent with their lightsaber. Arya wanted to prove that she would be able to beat such an overwhelming opponent and finally, _finally_ , impress someone who would not be worried about her past or temperament.

The Besalisk was a real powerhouse, and while Arya slowly tired, he did not. Arya moved around the rugged floor, watching the Besalisk's moves. Then she, knowing it would be the last act, rushed to attack.  
"She's going to lose!" Degu gasped. Jedova did not say anything; he had caught a glimmer in the girl's eyes.

Besalisk put his lightsaber to parry Arya, but then his smaller opponent ducked and sprung, flying under the training saber's blade and struck him, then deactivated the training saber before crashing to the floor.  
"And the match goes to Arya Deinden!" was announced.  
"Amazing! That was clever! Cunning, even!" Degu said, astonished.

 _Cunning._ That was the glimmer Jedova had noticed. The girl had gotten a plan. _A risky plan, yes_ , Jedova thought, _but it had worked._ He refrained from cheering; he would congratulate the girl later personally.

Arya bowed to the Besalisk and left. She had gotten enough of the excitement – her muscles were screaming. She wanted to withdraw to the Room of a Thousand Fountains to meditate and rest. Any Jedi who wanted to find her could find her there easily, she knew.

 _If any Jedi wanted to find me now_ , Arya thought grimly. She had not done as well as she had wanted to and her confidence about becoming a Padawan had drastically been reduced during the last weeks.  
 _Two months... Just two months... Then I must go home... The former home..._

 **/Author's note: Star Wars (c) Lucasfilm, any characters you cannot find on Wookieepedia, Veledos, Veledosians and their language (c) Me/**


	3. Chapter 2

_About an hour later_

"What do you think, Degu? Did you notice someone you could teach?" Jedova asked his former apprentice as they walked on a stone walkway in the Room of a Thousand Fountains.  
"There are some, who seemed to be teachable to me. I need to think," Degu answered. "I'm not sure I can teach Arya, but I really would not like to let her be sent away like that."

In the meantime Arya was leaning to a tree, meditating. Her muscles refused to move more than necessary. Then she noticed a familiar Force signature and she opened her eyes. Gomorrah and his Master, Jffk Iurh, were walking by nearby. Gomorrah noticed his friend and greeted her. Arya smiled and waved to him.  
[May I go to talk with Arya, Master?] Gomorrah asked his Master.  
"Go on," Master Iurh answered. Gomorrah smiled and walked to Arya. [How did the Exhibition Day go?]  
"Third in swimming, first in balance, fourth in jumping and endurance, seventh in Force exercises, second in climbing," Arya told. "I could have done better."  
[What about lightsaber tournament?]  
"I won. But that Besalisk I faced in finals was a tough one. I nearly lost. He could push me away with the strength of his arms when we had out lightsabers connected," Arya told. "What about your mission?"  
[The conference was peaceful. Everything went well,] Gomorrah told.  
"That's good to hear!" Arya said happily. She was always glad to hear good news from her friends' missions.  
[How has everything gone around here during my absence?]  
"Qui-Gon and Master Dooku returned, Qui-Gon and Master Dooku left. And so on. Haven't heard anything from Airka, though. Tahl's still here."  
[Isn't Qui-Gon constantly on the go?]  
"He is. Master Dooku likes to be on the go, it seems. Or then the Council is very enthusiastic to send them on missions."  
[They must be very trustworthy if they're going on important missions.]  
"Do you really think that Qui-Gon would _ever_ admit to us that they are just going on mere easy errands on the behalf of the Council?"

Gomorrah started to laugh.  
[You're right about that. He would never tell us that,] he said. Arya smiled. It felt good to make the serious Wookiee laugh.  
"How are your studies going?" she asked.  
[Good. Master Iurh is a very good teacher. And I do learn from experience, too,] Gomorrah told. [What about you? Still trying to read the archives through?]  
"Do I have anything better to do since I am not a Padawan?" Arya asked, forcing her tone to stay cheerful. Nevertheless, Gomorrah knew how much it bugged Arya.  
[Sorry,] he apologized.  
"It's all right, my friend," Arya said and tapped the Wookiee Padawan's arm. "I'll be fine."

They talked about various things before Gomorrah had to leave for a lesson. Arya stayed on the same spot, wondering if she ever managed to get up from there. Part of her wanted to sit there forever until a Jedi Knight or Master would come and take her as their Padawan learner.

Thinking about it made her heart ache. She had worked very hard ever since Jedova Wang had brought her to the Jedi Temple. She had achieved a lot and she truly wanted to be worth of the Jedi Master's faith. She had overheard Jedi Masters of the Council of Reassignment talking about her; she was to be placed to Agricultural Corps if she was not chosen as a Padawan. Recalling it made her heart scream; she was not one to be in AgriCorps!

It was a mere feeling, but it was a strong feeling. She did not belong to the AgriCorps. Period. She did not know where the feeling originated, but it existed, and that was all that mattered to her.

After giving it a thought, Arya had come to the decision that if she would not become a Padawan, she would return back to her tribe and live there among them once again. The idea of letting down the faith of the first Jedi she had ever met felt bad to her. Arya started to move her feet and get them able to move again.

Suddenly she caught a glimpse of two approaching Jedi and turned to look at them. She sensed that they were familiar and she recognized them, feeling glad to see them. _So I don't get to leave without seeing Master Wang again!_

The two Jedi noticed the Initiate looking at them and Arya nodded to them.  
"You want to go to talk with her, right?" Degu said.  
"Why not?" Jedova noted. "We know her, after all."  
"Hi Degu! Hi Master Wang! Long time, no see!" Arya greeted as the Jedi were close enough.  
"So you still remember us? And recognize me even though I've grown a lot?" Degu asked.  
"Of course I do! How could I forget the two of you?" Arya said and took a closer look. "Hey, wait a minute. Degu, you don't have your Padawan braid anymore! Have you been knighted?"  
"Yeah, six months ago," Degu told. "I asked Master Jedova to help me with choosing a Padawan."  
"Wow, congratulations!" Arya said. Somewhere deep within she felt extremely frustrated to see others around her advance while she was stuck.  
"Congratulations on winning the tournament," Jedova said. "How have you been?"  
"I've been fine, thanks! What about you?" Arya said.  
"Quite okay. There has been ups and downs during the last years," Jedova told. "Like always in life."  
"So, you still haven't been chosen as a Padawan?" Degu asked. "Aren't you 12 already?"  
"Two months for 13th birthday," Arya told. "I'm considering about returning back to my tribe then."  
"Do you think you won't be chosen as a Padawan?" Jedova asked, frowning. Arya shrugged.  
"I've been doing whatever I have been able to for two years already to impress Jedi Masters and Knights. If the interested Jedi are not worried about my temperament, it's always about my familial background," Arya said and her expression became grim as she mumbled under her breath, "It's always about the past I've left behind."

She suddenly realized that she was not hiding her negative emotions anymore. She quickly corrected it and forcibly returned the smile back to her face.  
"I'm being realistic. I've left my family behind, but unlike many others who don't go to the Service Corps, I have a place to go to," she told.  
"Why aren't you considering about going to Service Corps?" Jedova asked.  
"I don't think I belong there," Arya told. "It just is not my place."  
"Many think that way, yet they do find their place there," Jedova noted.

Arya swallowed the furious retort. It was not Jedova's fault that she was in this situation. However, she did feel a little bit hurt by the fact that the Jedi Master who had truly believed in her was trying to recruit her to the Corps now when she was a lost cause.  
"I must go now. It was really nice to meet you again. May the Force be with you both," Arya said, getting up. She knew to leave when she was swallowing up retorts.  
"May the Force be with you, wherever you end up to," Degu said.  
"May the Force be with you, young one," Jedova said quietly. Arya nodded and left, forcing her tears to stay away. She could let them out in the privacy of her quarters.  
"I am not up to train her," Degu concluded. "Not with my little experience."

The Jedi Knight said farewells to Jedova and left. Arya did not know it and Degu had not noticed, but Jedova had seen the hurt in Arya's eyes when he had talked about Jedi Service Corps. He could almost feel familiar words form on his lips, _A lost cause._

He felt pity towards the young girl; he, if someone, knew the potential in her. But he also knew the dangers she carried with her better than anyone else in the whole Order.

He could once again hear Seer Ni'Dea whisper the words from seven years ago in his mind, _And yet one thing. If Arya's birth element is fire, as I fear, she may become very unpredictable. I've heard a lot about normal Veledosians of fire having problems especially on controlling their feelings. It may turn out as a problem at least when she is a Padawan. If she ever becomes a Padawan..._

Jedova left that spot to go further to the room. He needed to meditate and clear his mind. The Force had been at work during the Exhibition Day, and he needed to figure out what it wanted him to do.

 **/Author's note: Star Wars (c) Lucasfilm, any characters you cannot find on Wookieepedia, Veledos, Veledosians and their language (c) Me/**


	4. Chapter 3

_In the next morning_

Arya walked to the same place in which she had been yesterday. In which she had always been, waiting for Jedi to come to her. She did not feel like going there anymore, not after being turned down once again by another Jedi yesterday. But she had decided that she would go there every day until the outcome would arrive, be it either becoming a Padawan or leaving back to the Lianoros tribe.

She had expected the place to be silent and without anyone meditating there but she noticed a figure there. When she came closer, she noticed that it was Master Wang. The Jedi Master opened his eyes when Arya arrived.  
"I was waiting for you," he told, smiling. "I heard that this is your favorite spot."  
"I don't know about favorite," Arya noted and sat down next to the Jedi Master. "But this is a good spot if one wants to be found."  
"It truly is. Many Jedi go by on that walkway. I noticed while I was waiting," Jedova said.  
"Why were you waiting for me, Master Wang?" Arya asked, curious.  
"I wanted to talk with you," Jedova answered as if it had been the simplest thing in the world.  
"About what?" Arya asked. Jedova turned to look at her with a twinkle in his eyes.  
"Anything. You pick the topic," he told.

Arya blinked in surprise. What could she, a mere Initiate, possibly talk about with a very experienced Jedi Master? First question came to her tongue, but she knew she should not ask it. She was not supposed to. Therefore, she pushed it away.  
"Well... Let's see... um..." she did not know a good topic to talk about with the elder Jedi.  
"You seemed to have a topic already in your mind. Why did abandon it?" Jedova asked.  
"I am not supposed to even think about it," Arya noted. "Even though thinking about it is quite important now."  
"Then why not go on and ask? It is not like I go and tell others about some normal conversations," Jedova remarked. Arya looked at him, not sure if she should trust that sentence, but she decided to leave her suspicions be and asked, "Have you heard anything about my tribe ever since I left?"

Jedova had already suspected that Arya's question would be about her tribe as the girl had noted that she should not think about it.  
"Unfortunately, I have heard nothing," Jedova answered. Arya nodded to show that she understood and turned to look at the distant waterfall.  
"Has it been difficult to be apart from them?" Jedova asked.  
"At first I missed them and worried about them. But as I got into the clan and made friends, as I worked to catch up with other Initiates, the homesickness eventually disappeared. This is my home now and my clan has been my family," Arya told. In some way, it felt to Jedova like it was a mantra Arya had repeated to everyone. There seemed to be only a very tiny bit of emotion in those words. That emotion was not happiness or contentment.

It was, Jedova realized, _frustration_. Frustration about repeating it dozens of times to others and herself. Frustration about the message not being received by those it was sent to.

Frustration about being a lost cause; rejected of her dream she had worked for.

Jedova looked at the waterfall. There was something different about it than those on Kiros.  
"You know, all the time before I thought that our meeting was the will of the Force. But as I heard about your reputation and all the times you had gone through a similar situation, I have come to think that it was just a coincidence that we ever met," Arya said.  
"I don't think it was just a coincidence. It was meant to happen," Jedova mused. "I do not think there is coincidence in the Force."

Arya turned to look at him, her gaze telling what she thought, _You're just saying._ Then the girl turned her head back to gaze at the waterfall again.  
"It just is not fair," Arya said very quietly as she forgot the Jedi Master's presence; she did not mind it, actually, that Jedova could hear her quiet ramble. Somehow she felt comfortable with the tall Master.  
"What is not fair?" Jedova asked.  
"You had such faith in me and I've worked very hard to be worth of it. Yet still I see others around me advancing while I'm stuck as an Initiate just because of where I lived and how I lived in the past I left behind for this. I left everything I had ever had for the Jedi path. Now it feels like I have to give up everything I have gotten ever since that day because I am... I am... a..." Arya talked.  
"A lost cause," Jedova ended.

Arya buried her face to her palms. Tears were running out of her eyes again. She had not said it out as words ever before, but now as they came, her emotions came out too. And they brought tears.

Jedova wrapped his arm around Arya's shoulders. Short trembles shook the girl's body.  
"I've done all I have been able to do in order to be worth of your faith. Yet I have managed to do anything else than fail," Arya said, trying to control her crying. "I'm such a failure."  
"Hey, Arya, you are not a failure," Jedova said, trying to comfort the girl.  
"You're just saying," Arya whispered.  
"I am not. You did well yesterday, I saw it, and if you have gotten past Initiate trials, you have been doing well. Not everyone can pass them," Jedova told. "You are anything but a failure, Arya."  
"I really appreciate that you think so, Master Wang," Arya told, sniffing. She wiped her tears away and took a few deep breaths. Jedova did not take his arm away.

 _And yet one thing. If Arya's birth element is fire, as I fear, she may become very unpredictable. I've heard a lot about normal Veledosians of fire having problems especially on controlling their feelings. It may turn out as a problem at least when she is a Padawan. If she ever becomes a Padawan..._ Seer Ni'Dea had once said.

 _Even Arya's own aunt, the Tribe Seer, had doubted Arya's possibilities on becoming a Padawan_ , Jedova realized. _Did I take a lost cause here?_

He remembered how he had felt back when he had been in Arya's situation.  
"Master Wang," Arya said, now voice stronger and also sterner. "You brought this up deliberately. Why?"  
"Well, Arya, there once was, many years ago, a time when I was in your situation. It seemed that I was not going to become a Padawan," Jedova told. "When I was near 13, I attended my last Exhibition Day. There I attracted the attention of a Nautolan Jedi Master whose vocal cords had been destroyed. Everyone thought that he, Xurego Odyrogo, was a lost cause on training Padawans. That he could never again train a Padawan to Knighthood. But he decided to take me as his Padawan. I believe that he either wanted to save a lost cause or then he related to what I felt and decided to prove that neither of us was truly a lost cause," Jedova told and turned to look into Arya's eyes. "I don't believe that he thought that much about my skills or potential I had shown back there."

Arya frowned. Jedova could see the faint glimmer of hope in the girl's eyes, yet there was suspicion; the girl did not want to get her hopes up and have them crushed once again – that had been done to her too many times.  
"Why are you telling me this, Master Wang?" she asked slowly, considering every single one of her words very carefully. She knew she was walking on a very fine line.

Jedova only smiled, looking at the girl for a short amount of time. Arya stayed patient as she waited for the Jedi Master to speak up. The girl, who had once listened to his stories, nearly bursting with excitement, had grown into someone more mature.  
"You have done a lot of work to be worth of my faith, indeed," Jedova noted. He could notice the girl stiffen and suddenly he saw from her eyes that she was whispering in her mind, _Say it! Say it!_

Otherwise Arya's appearance stayed mostly expressionless, only curious. Jedova kept another pause and he felt amused as he saw now that Arya's expression started to slowly become irritated. _Just spit it out, for the love of the Force!_ seemed to be what she wanted to snap at him.  
"Arya, would you accept to become my Padawan?" Jedova asked, knowing as well as Arya herself that the Veledosian girl had waited for that sentence.

Arya's eyes widened and her chin fell with rest of the girl utterly petrified. It was a truly eerie reminder about the reactions of her older brothers to that Arya was leaving for Jedi training, Jedova thought. Arya took a moment to recover and find her voice.  
"R-really..? You... you serious?" she stuttered as she struggled to get her voice out of her throat. "M-me? As your... Padawan?"

Jedova nodded.  
"What do you think, young one?" he asked.  
"Well _achekaar-kio_ , I accept, Master Wang!" Arya said, not bothering to apologize for the Veledosian curse she had let out; it was not like Jedova knew it was a swear word, anyways.  
"What was that Veledosian word, if you don't mind me asking, Padawan?" Jedova asked.  
"Oh, that... that was just some emphasis. No need to mind about it, Master," Arya told. Blush came to her cheeks and Jedova raised the other eyebrow. He had asked out of curiosity, but now it seemed that Arya was hiding something.  
"Really?" he asked.  
"Well okay, it was a Veledosian curse. I'm sorry, I got caught in my excitement, ok? Will be the only time if I can do anything about it," Arya answered. The frustration in her voice had a completely different tone now; it was relieved.

Somehow Jedova knew that if Arya had not been taught discipline, she would be jumping around the Temple already. Then the girl suddenly hugged him tightly and he could not help being surprised by this.  
"Thank you," Arya whispered to his ear.

Jedova held the girl in embrace with his right arm for a moment. Then they let go of each other.  
"Please remember that you may not get through my training," he reminded the girl, staying serious.  
"You had faith in me. I won't let you down," Arya promised, putting her fist to her chest without enough force to hurt herself – it was the Veledosian gesture which emphasized a promise. Jedova did not know the gesture but he saw the eagerness and zest in the girl; something had not changed during difficult and effortful training as a Jedi Initiate.  
"The Jedi Council asked me to come at 1200 to the High Council Chamber. It seems that they have a new mission for me. And from now on, for us," Jedova told.  
"That's great!" Arya said and smiled as widely as she just could. "Then we'll see if I get killed by the first trouble which gets to you this time!"  
"Arya, please," Jedova begun.  
"Just joking, Master!" Arya told, grinning.

Jedova gave a short laugh.  
"Remember to get your Padawan braid done. I'll meet you at the lobby of the Council Chamber at 1130," Jedova told and got up.  
"I won't be late, Master!" Arya promised. This time she emphasized her promise more mildly, but none less seriously. Jedova nodded to her and walked away.

Arya could barely contain her happiness. She could not believe it. She had become a Padawan after all! She knew there were no words in any language to thank the Jedi Master enough, but she knew that if she did her best and became a Jedi Knight, she would not only prove that she had been worth of her Master's faith but also thanked the Jedi Master for everything in that way.

Jedova knew he had just saved a lost cause, but after experiencing the feelings which had bugged Arya for long, he could not abandon the girl who had once saved his life before being brought to Jedi training.

Yes, he had never forgotten that. _Degu had not let him_ , Jedova reminisced and smiled for all the countless times the young man had teased him about having his life saved by a five-year-old girl.

Arya may have been a lost cause, but something in taking the girl as his Padawan felt _right._ Jedova now felt like the girl had always been meant to be his apprentice. _Probably my head just messes up with me. It felt great to see Arya's expression become so happy_ , Jedova thought. _Or maybe... maybe this was the Force's doing after all. Maybe me taking on Arya was its will._  
"You didn't stay there for long, it seems," Reg Tug's voice returned him back from his thoughts.  
"I wasn't meditating," Jedova told.  
"What then? Don't tell me you decided to take the girl you asked about as your Padawan learner," Reg Tug said.  
"Actually, I did," Jedova told.

Reg Tug groaned. He had been glad to deal with Jedova alone, but another decade of Jedova and a Padawan? He did not feel like standing it.  
"Am I not retiring from my position in the Council soon anyways?" Reg Tug muttered to himself and walked away.

Jedova kept on to go back to his quarters; he had left his comlink there in order to stay uninterrupted for the time he had talked with Arya. Jedova did know that he should not do that but for this once he had decided to do it. And nothing bad had happened.  
"Well, it's a new leaf turned in our lives, then," he muttered to himself as he picked up his comlink. "We shall see if I did a mistake or not. We shall see."

 **/Author's note: Star Wars (c) Lucasfilm, any characters you cannot find on Wookieepedia, Veledos, Veledosians and their language (c) Me/**


	5. Chapter 4

_At 1130_

Arya was sitting on a seat in the waiting lobby of the High Council Chamber when Jedova arrived. The girl seemed like a different person as she sat there in light meditation with her Padawan braid carefully plaited. She opened her eyes up as her Master came to sit by her.  
"Is everything all right?" Jedova asked.  
"Better than all right," Arya answered with a smile on her lips.  
"That's good to hear," Jedova told. "I have no idea about where we will be sent to."  
"No problem about that," Arya said.

The door opened up.  
"Oh, Jedova, you are already here. You can go in," said the Jedi who came out of the chamber. He glanced at Arya, surprised.  
"Thanks, Phayeth. How's it going?" Jedova asked. Phayeth brought his hands together and then threw them away from each other, making a puff which imitated the sound of an explosion.  
"Oh, I see," Jedova said, understanding the sign. He got up and walked to the chamber with Arya following him.  
"I so don't get why he loves training Padawans," Phayeth muttered as he looked at the now closed door before going into the turbolift. "I hated training Lor."

"Ah, Jedova Wang. A young one with you, you have brought," Master Yoda noted.  
"I have taken Arya as my Padawan," Jedova told. He could see from the corner of his eye that Reg Tug twitched a little bit in his seat. That Jedi Master was seemingly always grumpy but never strayed from the Light side of the Force, no matter what. He was, however, getting old, and many rumors about his retirement had gone around the Temple for some time.  
"Then to mission you will be sent very quickly after becoming a Padawan," T'un noted to Arya. Arya merely nodded. She knew to stay silent when she did not have something important to say.  
"What is our mission, then?" Jedova asked politely. He wanted to get to the point quickly.  
"To Bimmisaari you must go," Master Yoda told.

Jedova felt delight reaching his mind. He could introduce Arya to an old friend of his, Owylkai Dora, this quickly. Actually, it felt a little bit too quickly, he thought, but since he knew Arya already, he did not mind it.  
"Government needs assistance on a vote. Someone has tampered the results, yet they don't know who. They turned to seek our help," JK, a new Master in the Council, told.  
"So we need to go there and do exactly what about it? Investigate and find the one who tampered the results?" Jedova asked.  
"That and also watch that the results of the re-vote won't be tampered," Oppo Rancisis answered.

Jedova nodded. His delight had turned into irascibleness; political trouble had been the reason why he had ever met Owylkai in the first place, since the Bimm had been a politician back then, but something in all the bureaucracy irritated him. He preferred to go straight to the point instead of hiding behind all sorts of edicts and committees. But, then, it was just him and his impatience he had not gotten ultimately rid of.  
"Any other questions?" Reg Tug asked tersely. He seemed to get a headache just for looking at the two Jedi.  
"Not for the time being," Jedova answered.  
"Then may the Force be with you," Reg Tug said, now suddenly more polite. He must be relieved to get rid of us in his sight quickly, Jedova mused and could not help being amused by that fact.

Jedova and Arya bowed to the Council and left the chamber.  
"Welcome to the world of politics. That's pretty much our mission to you, I'd say," Jedova noted as they had gotten out of the chamber.  
"I never liked the politics lessons when I was an Initiate," Arya admitted. "Even the simplest of tasks take too long with all the bureaucracy. The inefficiency annoys me."  
"I must say that I agree on that," Jedova told.  
"Makes me kinda miss my tribe. There we had Seer and people who know well how the things are, and if someone else is needed, they get them to talk with them. Decisions were done quickly and without hesitating. At least that was the traditional way back then," Arya told.

Jedova noticed that the girl seemed very relieved to mention her tribe without fearing that it would make her look bad. Her experiences there were part of her knowledge, after all, and she liked to share them.  
"Your tribe is very small and has its own traditions. Planet-wide decisions have their own complexities," Jedova reminded.  
"And galactic-wide decisions even more complex and time-taking," Arya said and then muttered, "Yeah, I know that."  
"Anyway, if I can do anything about it, this mission won't be all politics. If we just have time, I'll introduce you to an old friend of mine there," Jedova told. "He used to be a politician himself and that's how I ended up getting to know him, but he has been an agriculturist for years now."  
"Really? I sure hope we have enough time to go and say hello!" Arya said, her expression suddenly brighter.

The turbolift returned back up soon after the two Jedi had left it. They were going to hitch a ride to Bimmisaari.

 **/Author's note: Star Wars (c) Lucasfilm, any characters you cannot find on Wookieepedia, Veledos, Veledosians and their language (c) Me/**


	6. Chapter 5

_On Bimmisaari_

"Ah, welcome, esteemed Jedi!" greeted the Bimm, Arajah Kers, who was there to meet them. Even after a lot of time since formally socializing with any Bimm politicians, Jedova could recognize the certain way of keeping posture among these people.  
"Thank you for meeting us this quickly," Jedova thanked, bowing slightly. Arya mimicked this carefully.  
"Ah, I remember you as a young boy. Yet now you are a Master of a child yourself," Arajah said.

Something in being called a child caused small flush to appear on Arya's cheeks and Jedova noticed the girl stiffen. It seemed that the girl's proudness had just been offended.  
"Follow me, please," Arajah told. If he noticed Arya's subtle changing, he chose to ignore it. The Jedi followed the Bimm.

"Master Jedi! You are here already!" said the eldest of the Bimm politicians.  
"We came as soon as we could after getting our assignment from the Council," Jedova told.  
"Good. Things haven't been this bad in a few decades," the same politician told. _Never since Master Xurego and I caught the conspiracy against the Bimm senator?_ Jedova wondered. He decided to not ask it aloud.  
"Excuse me. May I ask how badly the results of the vote were tampered?" Arya asked as politely as possible.  
"Not decisively, possibly to avoid attention, but they were tampered and thus ineligible," answered another Bimm; this one was one of the furred Bimms. Arya nodded as an answer.

Jedova was impressed by how well Arya hid her frustration which radiated from her Force signature. This seemed to be exactly what the Padawan had thought about when they had talked about the inefficiency of politics before leaving the Jedi temple. But after all, the girl must have been dealing with similar feelings for the two years of unsuccessfully trying to become someone's Padawan learner.  
"I'm sure that we can count on your help to avoid re-voting from being tampered," Arajah said with a trusting tone.  
"We will do everything we can to ensure that the vote will be eligible," Jedova promised.  
"We know that we can trust Jedi," said the eldest Bimm. "The vote will be held tomorrow at noon in the central plaza. Please be there. But now, I assume you wish to stretch your legs after your long travel."

Jedova felt Arya's delight about the idea, yet the Padawan stayed silent.  
"It would be very pleasant," Jedova said respectfully.  
"Then go. The weather is good today," the same Bimm told.  
"Thank you," Jedova said and bowed, noticing Arya doing the same. They left the building.  
"I can't tell how good it feels to get to stretch legs after sitting for long," Arya noted and breathed the warm air. "There will be a rain coming soon."  
"How do you know that?" Jedova asked, surprised. He did not have any weather precognition skills.  
"It can be smelled from the air. Basic Lianorosian stuff," Arya shrugged. "It's the tribe of water, after all."

Jedova nodded.  
"It would be nice if you taught me that," he muttered, not fully wishing the Padawan to hear that.  
"I can do that. Maybe," Arya said zestfully. "I'm not completely sure. It's quite instinctive for me."  
"Really?" Jedova asked. Arya shrugged.  
"We can try sometime," she mused. "But hey, are we just wandering here? Or does your friend live somewhere close by, Master?"  
"It's not too far," Jedova noted. "But if rain will start soon, we may not make it there before it."  
"I don't mind," Arya said. Jedova did not feel that the Padawan was completely honest about that.  
"Are you sure?" he asked.  
"I don't like getting wet," Arya admitted and made a face. "But it would be nice to meet that friend of yours, so it'd be worth it."  
"Let's keep walking then," Jedova said cheerfully.

 _About twenty standard minutes later_

"What do I see? Jedova, my old friend!" a shout came to their ears. "Hey, over here!"

The Jedi turned to look at where the shout had come from. A Bimm was there, waving at them.  
"Owylkai!" Jedova greeted and looked at Arya. "Come, Padawan."  
"Sure!" Arya said with a smile on her face. They walked to the Bimm.  
"What are you doing here, Jedova? No, wait, you have a new apprentice. A visit here, huh?" Owylkai asked.  
"Not just that," Jedova told. "A political mission, too."  
"Oh, like back when we met! That's nice!" Owylkai said with a wide smile on his face.  
"Yes, very nice," Jedova noted half-heartedly. "Arya, this is Owylkai Dora, the friend I told you about. Owylkai, this is my new Padawan, Arya Deinden."  
"Pleased to meet you, little one," Owylkai said.  
"Nice to meet you, too," Arya said earnestly. Jedova stole a brief look at her; was this really the girl who had just seven years ago been very shy of strangers? _The training at the Temple must have made a big difference._  
"Hey, why don't you too come to my place to have a chat? I know that it's a long way from Coruscant to here," Owylkai said.  
"Why not? There will be rain soon, it seems," Jedova noted.  
"Since when you have had ability to predict weather?" Owylkai asked in disbelief.  
"It was Arya who predicted it," Jedova told.  
"I really am not sure if it can be called weather prediction," Arya noted, scratching her neck and trying not to blush. Jedova now saw how modest the girl was.  
"Come on, let's go anyways, rain or not. I'll make you guys some tea," Owylkai told. "No need to shy. Especially you should know that, Jedova."

Jedova laughed.  
"Yes, I do know," he noted. The two Jedi followed the cheerful Bimm through the field to a small hut.

 **/Author's note: Star Wars (c) Lucasfilm, any characters you cannot find on Wookieepedia, Veledos, Veledosians and their language (c) Me/**


	7. Chapter 6

Arya could identify the plants Owylkai was raising on his fields. But then, near the hut, she stopped as she noticed a lone bush. The bush did not have any leaves on its red branches, yet in many of the branches had a blood-red drop hanging from their tips.

She had never seen a bush like that, yet she knew the bush. And she could feel a small Force signature coming from it.  
"Arya?" Jedova asked, stopping as he noticed that the Padawan was no longer following him. Arya did not stop staring at the bush and Jedova followed her gaze.  
"Oh, that bush," he mumbled.  
"Yes, that bush," Owylkai said, walking to the Jedi Master's side. "You sense the Force from it, right, young one?"  
"It's an Ascherlee bush," Arya said absent-mindedly.  
"You know that bush?" Owylkai asked, surprised. "According to my late grandfather, that bush was already there in his great-grandfather's time."

Arya did not respond. Her eyes narrowed.  
"Jedova, your earlier apprentices have sensed something when they have touched that bush, right?" Owylkai asked.  
"They talked about some voices. After thinking about the words they heard, we have suspected them to be Jedi; a Master and a Padawan," Jedova told. "Arya, what do you know about it?"  
"Nothing. And everything," Arya said. "Those grow where Veledosian blood has spilled to the soil."  
"Veledosian? Never heard," Owylkai noted.  
"Do they usually contain any visions or something like that?" Jedova asked.  
"How should I know?" Arya suddenly snapped, coming out of absentmindedness, then recalling her behavior. "Sorry, Master. It feels so disturbing that it's been here for longer than an average Ascherlee bush should."  
"Could it... be waiting for someone? Maybe it shows the full vision to another Veledosian," Jedova suggested.

Arya thought for a moment and shrugged then.  
"Go on, I'd like to know about the vision that bush holds!" Owylkai coaxed. Arya walked to the bush and kneeled in front of it. Jedova sat down next to her, non-verbally encouraging the girl.

Arya took a deep breath and touched one of the drops. Her breath bolted and a vision overcame her senses.

 _A Jedi Master with dark blonde hair was struck through by a blue lightsaber held by an Ithorian Dark Jedi.  
"Master!" screamed a young man with light gray, nearly white hair. His light-gray lightsaber whirred as he tried to strike the Dark Jedi._

 _The Ithorian drew his lightsaber away and retreated a few steps, smiling. The Jedi Master collapsed and the young man rushed to catch him._ Arya noticed that the young man did not have a Padawan braid. Could he be a new Knight? _  
"Master Daa-Rei, hang in there," the young man said.  
"No, Findio... It's... it's too late..." Daa-Rei said, gasping for air.  
"No! It's not!" Findio shouted and put his hand to the spot where the Dark Jedi had struck._

 _"I can't let you go like this."_

 _Findio's voice was just a whisper as he leaned closer to keep looking into Daa-Rei's eyes. The love the young man had for his Master, former or not, was intense. It was stronger than the love in any parent/child relationship between a Master and a Padawan._

 _Daa-Rei suddenly realized what Findio was up to. His eyes widened.  
"Findio, don't-"  
"I'll do this, no matter what."_

 _Findio started to speak some Veledosian words and started to absorb the injury to himself.  
"Shi-Sha Findio Acheta eche ni Phandeos MiriaVarike Acheme Weitaaja Dekian, phaar cheer phira!" even calling the younger Veledosian by his full name with all the authority that could possibly be gathered in such a situation, Daa-Rei's demand for the young man to stop was not obeyed by Findio.  
"Phira oophe neech stiar, miria varike!" _Don't get yourself killed, my apprentice! __

 _Nothing worked. Daa-Rei could only repeat Findio's name hopelessly, feeling the pain leave his own body as it was transferred to Findio's body. Daa-Rei could vaguely hear the Ithorian laugh, but he could not concentrate on it; instead of himself dying, he would see his own apprentice die for him.  
"You know, this is fun to see!" the Ithorian told and sat down. Daa-Rei ignored him._

 _Suddenly Findio gasped and held his stomach in the pain he now realized. He started to fall to his face.  
"Findio!" Daa-Rei gasped, horrified. He wrapped his arms around the young man and held him close.  
"Didn't realize it would hurt that much," Findio murmured. Daa-Rei was more used to pain than him.  
"I underestimated this... I cannot heal... But I'll be back soon, I promise. Just stop that Dark Jedi for me, please," Findio whispered._

 _Daa-Rei squeezed him tightly, forcing sobs to stay inside, and put him gently to the ground. Death drew closer as Daa-Rei stood up and, igniting his vivid yellow lightsaber, sprung into attacking the Ithorian, who had already begun his new attacks against the Veledosian Jedi Master. He utilized Form II well, and struck his opponent down. Then he returned back to Findio's side, seeing that the young man had passed already to the border._

 _He did not have any belief on the "seven lives of Shi-Sha" claptrap the preceding Shi-Sha had fed Findio back in the day the young man had been his Padawan. Suddenly Findio's form became engulfed by fire and the young man suddenly gasped, trying to get up. Daa-Rei stood up quickly, backing away.  
"Told you I'd come back soon," Findio gasped, not really seeing Daa-Rei's reaction. He did sense it, however. "And what Ertit told was no nonsense."_

 _Daa-Rei tried to mumble something to his defense, yet he knew that he could not excuse his disbelief towards the late VeledosJedi's words.  
"I forgive you for that. But," Findio took a deep breath and Daa-Rei waited for a condition for forgiveness, "I have a feeling that you need to haul me back to the Temple after the fire has gone down. I feel quite powerless now."_

 _Daa-Rei blinked in surprise. He had not waited for that. But he smiled, sat back next to the young man and told, "Of course, my old apprentice."  
"You're the old fart here, not me," Findio muttered. Daa-Rei coughed.  
"Listen, I am not the oldest Jedi in the Order. Not even out of VeledosJedi," he reminded._

 _Findio chuckled.  
"You're old to me," he noted.  
"Younglings," Daa-Rei scoffed. He felt good to know that he had not lost another apprentice, another friend._

 _Findio got up into sitting position. The flames started to disappear.  
"You won't lose me that easily, Master Daa-Rei," Findio told, putting strong love to his words, and shook his head. "Not that easily."_

Arya gasped and suddenly flung to her back. She did not get to hit her head to the ground as hands took hold of her before her back came to contact with the soil.  
"Easy now, Padawan. Catch your breath," Jedova said sedately.  
"Now that was a reaction!" Owylkai remarked.

Arya breathed in and tried to get the vision from clouding her senses. Findio's love towards his Master had been a strong one, so strong that it was tangible.  
"What did you see?" Jedova asked Arya when her breath had settled down.  
"A vision, a clear one," Arya answered and noticed that the Ascherlee bush started cracking.

Before Jedova could ask anything about the vision, the bush collapsed and turned into dust. It reminded Arya of something, though she could not recall what.  
"Wow. It must have been waiting for someone it could pass the vision to," Owylkai noted.  
"Why all this time?" Jedova wondered.  
"Perhaps there has not been a Veledosian here ever since that day," Arya noted.  
"What was the vision about?" Jedova asked.  
"I saw three people: an Ithorian Dark Jedi and two Veledosian Jedi who fought him. A Master and... the other one was a Knight, I think. It occurred to me that he was not the Master's Padawan anymore," Arya explained.  
"What happened? Didn't you say that those bushes appear when there's blood on the soil or something like that?" Owylkai asked.  
"The Dark Jedi struck the Master down, yet the Knight sacrificed his life to save his old Master," Arya told. "That's pretty much it."

Arya did not know why, but she had a feeling she should not talk about it more. There was a lot she did not understand, a lot she just knew her Master nor Owylkai would not understand even if she told them.  
"Did you hear any names?" Jedova asked.  
"The Master was called Daa-Rei and the Knight was Findio," Arya told. "I did not hear the Dark Jedi's name."  
"Daa-Rei and Findio..." Jedova repeated. "I have a feeling that I have hear that former name before."

A drip of water hitting his neck returned him from his thoughts.  
"Alas, it's starting to rain. Let's get inside, quickly!" Owylkai said.  
"Yes, let's go," Jedova agreed and the Jedi got up and followed the Bimm, followed by heavy rain.

 **/Star Wars (c) Lucasfilm, any characters you cannot find on Wookieepedia, Veledos, Veledosians and their language (c) Me/**


	8. Chapter 7

They got inside Owylkai's hut before they got soaked.  
"This has not changed a bit since my last visit, now has it?" Jedova wondered.  
"Why should it have?" Owylkai asked.  
"It's been a long time. Usually something changes in such a time," Jedova noted.  
"I'm growing old," Owylkai mumbled. "Older than you, Jedova. The years have started to weigh down my bones."  
"Hey, don't get so gloomy all the sudden! At least not in front of a young one," Jedova tried to cheer him up.  
"Oh yeah. Sorry, kid," Owylkai said.  
"It's ok. Everyone gets old someday. If they just live and experience enough," Arya noted.

Owylkai nodded.  
"Is that Jedi wisdom, perhaps?" he asked, smiling.  
"I think it's more common wisdom," Arya answered, returning the smile.

Jedova felt happy that Arya and Owylkai got along. They had a long conversation, reminiscing the incidents of the past years. Since the rainclouds had effectively blocked so much of the sunlight that the room was dark, no one noticed the night coming. Only when Arya started to nod on the verge of falling asleep, did the men notice the time.  
"We must return back to the city," Jedova noted.  
"Aww, time flies too fast with friends!" Owylkai noted. Jedova could not agree more.  
"Arya, get up. You'll get to sleep soon," Jedova said gently to Arya.  
"Mmhh... Yes, Master," Arya mumbled and forced herself to get up from the chair.  
"I'll see you tomorrow at the re-voting then," Owylkai said. "Until then."  
"Until then," Jedova said. Arya nodded in agreement, yawning.

The Jedi left. Jedova wrapped his arm around Arya's shoulders to make sure that the girl stayed near him. The rain had stopped but it was a late night and very dark. They got to the town and Jedova stayed on guard.  
"Arya, stay sharp. We don't know what lurks in the shadows," he told his Padawan quietly.  
"Yes, Master," Arya mumbled and tried to look around herself. She was too tired to do that, however, and she just took hold of her Master's hand, trying to keep her eyes open. There seemed to be some movement in the darkest streets they passed by.

Jedova wanted to get to the dorms provided by the Bimm politicians as soon as possible. The dark streets were not a place for a young girl like Arya. And he himself did not like to be there, even though his appearance did make many of the scoundrels hesitate to approach him in the dark.  
"Ah, Master Jedi!" the guard of the dormitories said as they arrived to him. "I wondered where you were!"  
"Our conversation with an old friend of mine prolonged," Jedova explained shortly.  
"I see, I see. It must be that you don't get to see your friends very often if you're on missions on different planets. I truly understand," the guard said, nodding. "It's rooms 73 and 74 for you. Second floor, near the end of the left corridor."  
"Thank you," Jedova thanked. It seemed to him that Arya had fallen asleep and she walked just because he dragged her.

It did not take long for Jedova to find the rooms. He had shaken Arya a little bit so that the Padawan would be at least aware of her surroundings and the girl seemed to be half-awake for now. It would change quickly, Jedova knew.  
"Now you'll get to sleep. Good night, Padawan," Jedova said and left to his own room.  
"Good... night... Master..." Arya drifted off mid-sentence. Jedova could not help smiling as he looked at the girl; he had not forgotten the time on Kiros, and while Arya had changed a lot indeed, there were some things that had not changed at all.

In a way, Jedova hoped that it would stay that way, too.

 **/Star Wars (c) Lucasfilm, any characters you cannot find on Wookieepedia, Veledos, Veledosians and their language (c) Me/**


	9. Chapter 8

_In the next day, at noon_

"If you notice or sense anything even slightly suspicious, tell me," Jedova instructed his Padawan.  
"Yes, Master," Arya responded. The girl had been awake before him, yet she was still perky. Her enthusiasm to do her best was truly worth of noting, Jedova mused.

They were already standing at the main voting point, scanning the crowd calmly. Jedova had been prepared to remind the girl to stay calm – she was so full of enthusiasm – but he noticed that he did not need to do that; the girl's self-discipline was enough to hold the her emotions.

Jedova's realization was visible on his face. At least to Arya.  
"I still remember the first exercise I got at the Temple. Master Yoda kept a patience exercise at the Room of a Thousand Fountains," she said.  
"Oh, I truly hated them back when I was an Initiate. It felt horrendous to stay put for hours," Jedova reminisced.  
"I grew frustrated quite quickly. But I really wanted to prove myself to my new clan mates, so I just forced myself to stay put. And it worked. Even though it was truly horrendous, as you said, Master," Arya told. "Back then, even though I was told by the other Initiates that I had fared well for a first-timer, I did not believe them."  
"Have you changed your mind about that?" Jedova asked.  
"I have," Arya answered and smiled. "Master Yoda can be a nasty teacher. He even has tripped people."  
"He tripped me a few times before I got the rank of a Master," Jedova gave laugh. "I'm glad that Sören did not see me getting tripped by Master Yoda back when he was my Padawan. And I would not like any of my apprentices see that anyways."

Arya chuckled when she imagined the younger Jedova being tripped by the far smaller – _and far older_ – Jedi Master.  
"Don't get any ideas, Padawan," Jedova warned even though his cheerfulness showed.  
"Oh well, you're here already! Ah, Jedi can truly be precise!" Owylkai's voice sounded.  
"Hi there, Owylkai," Jedova greeted neutrally.  
"So what's up? Anything suspicious yet?" the Bimm asked.  
"Not yet, at least," Jedova noted. "I do wish that this will go without any problems."  
"Yeah, I'm sure that the dude who tampered the results got scared by you when you arrived here. You know, Jedova, you are a menacing sight with your height and posture," Owylkai noted.  
"I take that as a compliment. Thank you," Jedova said. Owylkai chuckled and proceeded to go and vote.  
"So he is always like that, right?" Arya asked.  
"Pretty much. What about that, Padawan?" Jedova asked.  
"Just having an odd feeling. Maybe I did not sleep enough," Arya said, hesitating a little.  
"Be completely honest with me, please. Do you have a bad feeling about Owylkai?" Jedova asked, keeping his tone neutral. He knew well enough that his friendship with Owylkai could cloud his judgement about him.  
"There seemed to be something different in him when compared to yesterday. He wasn't like what he was before I dozed off," Arya told. "I am concerned about it."

Owylkai came, nodded a farewell to the Jedi and left.  
"There is something odd about him now," Jedova muttered. "I know he spends a lot of time alone but this is not how he normally acts. He'd come here to talk with us more since we aren't here incognito, we've been friends for so long that the times I get to speak with him don't do it justice. We'd better check on him as soon as possible."

Arya nodded and kept her eyes on the crowd. Neither of the Jedi noticed anything else that was suspicious. The day came to its end.  
"Well, anything suspicious?" asked the eldest Bimm politician. His name was Tarak, Jedova reminisced.

Arya felt a weak warning, sent by Jedova through the Force. They hardly had any bond between them yet, but Jedova knew how to get short messages to those he was not bonded to. It was something he had learned from his own Master back in the day. The warning gave Arya the feeling that she should stay quiet and let him handle the talk.  
"Not really, aside from that fight in the lines," he told. The day had included a fight over the place in the line, although Jedova had been enough to stop it.  
"Oh yes, I heard of that," Tarak said.  
"Is there anything else for us to do?" Jedova asked.  
"Not today. But we'd like to have you oversee counting the votes just in case. No one will be able to get past the guards during the night," Tarak told.  
"Then our day is over," Jedova stated.

"Exactly," Tarak verified.

The Jedi bowed to the Bimm and left.  
"Let's go to see Owylkai," Jedova muttered to Arya. It was starting to get dark but he wanted to deal with Arya's suspicion right away. During the day, he had grown more concerned himself as well. There was something wrong and the Force was giving him hints about it.

They get to the Bimm's place soon. Jedova knocked the hut's door.  
"Owylkai? Owylkai, it's Jedova. Can I come in?" Jedova asked. There was no answer, but the Jedi Master knew now for sure that something was wrong, so he opened to the door up. "Owylkai, what's – oh, Force!"

He strode inside the hut and knelt to the side of his friend, who held his head in silent agony. Arya stayed at the doorway, horrified by what she saw. _What has happened to the cheerful Bimm?_

 _ **/Star Wars (c) Lucasfilm, any characters you cannot find on Wookieepedia, Veledos, Veledosians and their language (c) Me/**_


	10. Chapter 9

Jedova accessed to the Force. He knew that he was not very good at healing techniques but he knew that he could relieve his friend's pain.  
"Take it easy, my friend," he muttered to Owylkai. As he let the Force soothe the pain the Bimm was in, Owylkai's whimpering silenced. Soon he was able to thank the Jedi Master who helped him up from the floor and to a chair.  
"What happened to you?" Jedova asked.  
"I really don't know. I don't recall anything before, home in my sights already, a great agony hit my head. I barely managed to get here and shut the door," Owylkai told.  
"What do you remember before it?" Jedova asked.  
"I really don't know", Owylkai answered.  
"What do you remember clearly? Something about our conversation on yesterday evening?" Jedova asked.  
"Wait... yes, our conversation. I... I remember that you two left and then... I remember that someone came. He tried to impersonate you or something. At least it seemed to me like that. He offered some sort of odd drink, but I was suspicious and declined. Then he knocked me down and forced me to drink. I don't recall anything else," Owylkai told.

Jedova hissed from behind his gritted teeth. There was hardly anything he hated more than that someone impersonated as him to harm his friends.  
"Can you remember anything about him?" he asked.  
"There really was not anything. He had a cloak slightly darker than yours and I think he was shorter than you. And a higher voice, yes. He kept his hood up so I did not see his face," Owylkai told.

Arya had stayed silent. She could not believe how anyone could do something like that to anyone.  
"Do you remember anything about voting?" she asked.  
"Voting? Today? Nothing", Owylkai told. Arya turned to look at her Master who had come to the same conclusion.  
"What about the previous vote? Anything about that?" Jedova asked.  
"The line was horrendous. I don't recall anything else," Owylkai told.  
"Nothing else? Not what you voted or what you voted for?" Jedova asked.

Owylkai shook his head.  
"It seems that we have a problem," Jedova said, suddenly very grim.  
"What? You think _I_ am the one who tampered with the results?" Owylkai asked frantically.  
"As of what we know now, it seems that you were drugged to do so," Jedova told.  
"Why me?" Owylkai asked.  
"I don't know about the first time, but I think at least this time you were chosen because you are a friend of Master Jedova's and would be less likely to get our suspicions," Arya suspected.  
"Sounds logical to me," Jedova noted. "You should come with us. This must be solved as soon as possible."  
"And if the person behind this finds out about this, you may be in danger," Arya said. "Those who have something to hide tend to prefer to silence those who know anything."  
"Ok, ok, I get it. There is no need to keep coaxing," Owylkai murmured. "Let's go, it's dark already."

They did not get to go very far before the both Jedi sensed the Force warning them about something. Arya took her lightsaber quickly, knowing that it was still the training lightsaber she had gotten when she had started attending lightsaber lessons.  
"Where is he?" Owylkai asked. Jedova did not answer. He just took his own lightsaber and scanned the area with the Force. Arya tried to hear the careful footsteps of the person who was approaching them in the shadows.

Suddenly she heard the footstep, and with the Force verifying the location of the threat, Arya suddenly dashed to fight the person. She ignited her training lightsaber and with some kicks and swipes she somehow knew to perform she quickly fought a person bigger than herself, burning the person with quick hits of her lightsaber.  
"Arya!" Jedova shouted out, ignited his own lightsaber and rushed to help his apprentice.

The person – by the sound of the screams it was a man, the Jedi thought – struck something at Arya's arm and fled before Jedova got to him, leaving the Padawan shout many of the Veledosian curses she had once learned.

Owylkai limped to the Jedi, afraid that the man would return to him. Jedova inspected the still cursing Arya's arm, seeing a syringe protruding from it. Part of the syringe's substance had been injected to the Padawan's veins already. Jedova gripped the syringe and tore it away, earning another shout and some more curses from the Padawan.  
"Do you think that was meant for me?" Owylkai asked fearfully.  
"We'll know better once we have gotten it examined. Let's go, quickly. And Arya, do you have something which would restrain the blood from leaving your arm?" Jedova said.  
"Sure," Arya said and took a small sash from her pocket. "I've read too much about poisonings to go unprepared for its possible occurring on me."

She proceeded to tie it tightly on her arm above the little wound. She could soon feel her fingers go numb.  
"We must hurry up," Jedova said, keeping a sharp eye on Arya. The Padawan kept her hand on the still bleeding spot where the needle had pierced through the skin.  
"I hope there is still a medic at work at this hour," Jedova said.  
"There is at least one. I know the way," Owylkai told.  
"Great," Jedova said, allowing a bit of relief come to his voice. He could Force heal anything from small wounds to blaster burns, but a poisoning - or whatever had gone to Arya's veins - was beyond his healing skills.

"Tokra!" Owylkai called out as they got to the medic's station.  
"Owylkai, what's wrong?" Tokra asked.  
"I'm fine, but there is someone who is not!" Owylkai told and nodded at Arya.  
"Is the bleeding stopping?" Jedova asked the girl, still keeping hold of her shoulder; Arya had started to feel dizzy on the way.  
"No," Arya murmured. "This nausea is chaarkaratka."  
"I know you are not feeling good, Padawan, but would you please at least try to control your language?" Jedova asked gently.  
"Sorry, Master," Arya muttered. "But be glad that I don't know any sufficing curses in Basic. And there is a certain thing in cursing in Veledosian that just is better than any Basic curse."

Jedova suppressed a sigh. He would have a talk about this with Arya once the girl would be in a better state.  
"So what happened to you?" Tokra asked.  
"We were attacked. The attacker managed to strike this to Arya's arm," Jedova explained and showed the syringe to the medic, who took it and examined it.  
"I need to inspect this substance, but it does seem like a drug," Tokra told.  
"A drug?" Owylkai repeated.  
"A drug that's fatal as big doses," Tokra defined.

Arya groaned in dismay.  
"Can you help her?" Jedova asked.  
"Yes," Tokra told. "Please, sit down."

Jedova helped Arya to walk over to the closest chair; it seemed that it was starting to be very difficult for the Padawan to move anymore. Tokra took a closer look at her arm.  
"Most of the drug seems to have stayed in the arm thanks to the string keeping the blood circulation restricted. It can be flushed out from there quite easily", he told then.  
"What about what has gotten past?" Jedova asked.  
"If we assume that the syringe was full when struck to the girl, the amount of drug which has gone past should not be fatal. Well, that would be it if it would be about an adult, but a child... I am not too sure about that," Tokra told and scratched his chin. "She should be kept in surveillance over the night. I hope you don't have anything arranged for that."  
"I wish there was not," Jedova muttered. "But we shall see how to arrange this all in the morning."

Arya wanted to nod or something, somehow express that she understood, but she had already started to see dark dots in her vision. It was way too difficult to move or say something.

She wanted to say at least something, but the darkness took over without her approval.

 **/Star Wars (c) Lucasfilm, any characters you cannot find on Wookieepedia, Veledos, Veledosians and their language (c) Me/**


	11. Chapter 10

_In the next morning_

"Your Padawan was drugged?" repeated Tarak. As one of the first things in the morning Jedova had contacted him via comm. link.  
"Yes. We got attacked and I don't think it will be a good idea to leave her side. If the same attacker comes, there is not very much protection to her by anyone," Jedova explained.  
"What about you?" Tarak asked.  
"I'm fine," Jedova told.  
"So the attacker aimed at your apprentice?"  
"No. I fear that the results have already been tampered. A friend of mine was drugged when he came to both votings and he was most likely the target this time, but Arya was the first one to intercept the attacker, who retreated when I was joining her."  
"I see. I'll send someone there to see you. Stay by your apprentice's side until she get better and then get here with her. I will see if the results have been tampered with. Over."  
"Thank you. Over."

Jedova put his comm. link back to his utility belt. Arya was not well at all, he knew it. But now he could only sit by her bedside and wait for the girl to recover.  
"She still is unconscious?" Owylkai asked once again. This was at least the fourth time he asked the same question.  
"Yes," Jedova answered. He did not want to snap the answer at the Bimm, but his patience was slowly running out. Yet this was not Owylkai's fault, so he could not be blamed.  
"I'm sure she recovers," Owylkai reassured.  
"She better do," Jedova said grimly, but then his voice became sadder. "After we left the High Council Chamber to come here, she jokingly said that we'd see if the first trouble that comes for us kills her or not. I don't want her to die on her first mission like this."  
"I understand, my friend," Owylkai said and carefully rested his hand on Jedova's shoulder.

Jedova was as reserved as always. He was not too used to physical contact, and he liked to keep a good amount of personal space. But on certain occasions he did not mind it; this time he was mostly just too tired to mind, as he had not slept as much as he should have. And he knew that Owylkai only wanted to help him.

It did not take long before Arajah Kers came.  
"Nothing sure seems to be wrong," he noted as he looked at Arya.  
"The drug which was injected to her veins is a rather undetectable one," told Tokra. "I'm positive she will resuscitate soon."  
"I hope you are right," Jedova muttered.  
"So what actually happened out there last night?" Arajah asked.

Jedova explained shortly how he and Arya had gotten suspicious about Owylkai's behavior and gone to check on him and what had happened after that. Owylkai confirmed the information the Jedi Master provided. Arajah wrote it all down to his datapad and looked at the message he had just received.  
"I was informed that the results have been tampered, indeed," he told. "Not as notably as last time, but they still were tampered."  
"Who would want to alter the results of a vote about whether we need more schools on Bimmisaari or not?" Jedova wondered.  
"Ask the person who drugged me and Arya," Owylkai remarked.  
"He needs to be found first," Jedova reminded.

Arya heard voices through the thick cloud of darkness which held her consciousness in its grasp. The words jumbled together, making her unable to know what the people around her said. Striving to get lights up to her head and some clarity to her senses, she somehow managed to get a weak moan, incoherent mumble out of her mouth. She did not know it, but the people in the room jumped as they heard her. She still could not make out the words from the chaos of noises she heard.

She forced her eyelids to recede from covering her eyes. The light hurt but she tried to see something. Or sense or hear something. Or _feel_ something.

Speaking of feeling, she did feel something. She felt a faint wave flowing in the Force. That wave was meant to reach her, to calm her.

It felt like it was saying, _It's all right, Padawan. Take your time. I'm right by your side._

Arya wanted to answer to that feeling but she could not. She was too weak to do anything. Her sense of touch registered a hand resting on her shoulder. She could sense a familiar Force signature by her side. Was it her Master?  
"Take it easy, Padawan. I am right here," this time Arya could hear the words quite clearly. She recognized the bass voice; it was Jedova all right. Arya wanted to say something, but she did not find the strength to get any voice out of herself. Heck, even nodding was a task too difficult for her now!  
"The drug still affects her. She may not be able to communicate with us for hours even if she stays in full consciousness of her surroundings," this time it was Tokra who was talking. Arya wanted to groan, but she could barely even get a stronger exhale out.

Vision sharpened. But there was only the blank, dark green ceiling to be seen. Arya could not move. She closed her eyes and stripped every bit of her shattered concentration to connect to the Force and try to make some weak and vague contact to her Master. But she failed; even if there had been an actual bond already established between them, she could not have been able to do anything. She was still too weak to do anything.  
"Arajah, I am not leaving her before she can at least tell that she is fine," Jedova's voice told.  
"I understand," said another voice. Arya could barely recognize it as Arajah's voice. Neither of the Jedi did not know that Arajah had a child and knew well enough to understand; to him Jedova and Arya's relationship was close to that of him and his own child.

The thought about waiting for hours while being unable to do anything else than breathe and vaguely think was a thought that felt like too much. It felt even worse than any patience exercise at the Temple she had complained about just a day ago. Arya wanted to succumb back to unconsciousness; she felt too weak to consider this wait as a challenge.

But she could not go to any different state. She could only do the only thing she could to pass time: meditate.

And meditate she did.

 **/Star Wars (c) Lucasfilm, any characters you cannot find on Wookieepedia, Veledos, Veledosians and their language (c) Me/**


	12. Chapter 11

Hours passed by. Arajah was replaced by another Bimm, Fuur Norda. The Jedi meditated, Tokra kept his eyes on Arya's condition and Owylkai... Owylkai just did what he did.

Arya opened up her eyes again. She still felt that she could not do anything, but she forced her voice to say aloud, "Just what in the name of the universe was that drug anyways?"

Jedova startled out of meditation when he heard the girl say the words with strength he did not sense coming from her.  
"It's called Temmeneree in the language of the world it comes from. It does not have a name in Basic," Tokra told.  
"Temenneree," Arya repeated. It seemed to Jedova like the word meant something to the girl. "That sounds like a certain Veledosian drug I dislike."  
"Pardon?" Tokra asked.  
"Temenneree, made from something I personally don't wish to know, was used to incapacitate the strongest Veledosians, since they were strong enough to persist many harmful substances so long that they could get it out of their system. Temenneree, however... It's believed by many that a Sith once invented it and spread it out. I thought that whatever was left of it was in the guarding hands of my people," Arya told and whispered, "Someone must've gotten something during The Poisoning."

Only Jedova heard it well enough to make out the words.  
"What about on those who are weaker, like children? What about them?" asked Owylkai.  
"They usually die if they are not treated," Arya told. "Actually, with the tiny doze which got to my system, I'm lucky to be able to talk."  
"You Jedi are tough indeed," Fuur Norda noted.  
"Who could make that drug?" Jedova asked.  
"As far as I know, anyone who knows enough and has access to the needed ingredients," Arya told. "You delimit the list from there, Master."  
"I've heard that the Jedi archives have a lot of information. Could the information of Temenneree gotten out from there to someone who used to be a Jedi?" Fuur asked.  
"I highly doubt the required amount of information on in is available there," Jedova noted and looked at the pale face of his Padawan, still worried about the girl's condition. "Arya, do you know how long it will take before the effects will fade away?"  
"I have no idea. Haven't encountered a twelve-year-old who could tell," Arya told. She wanted to make a face, but her facial muscles were still numb. "All I know that aside from being able to talk, I cannot move."  
"Temenneree is an uncommon drug, but by all the researches I've read about it, I am positive that she will be able to leave this room tomorrow. There is no danger to her life anymore," Tokra assured.  
"That's good to hear," Jedova noted, allowing all of his relief to show on his face.  
"Tomorrow?" Arya repeated, sounding impatient. "Well, guess that's better than lying on this very spot for a week."  
"It is, Padawan," Jedova told. "Trust me, I know from experience."  
"I do trust that, Master," Arya told. She wanted to grin to the human man, but she could not even turn her head to look into his eyes. She could only hope that the Jedi Master sensed her mirth.

The sun set and Fuur left. Arya fell asleep, and so did Owylkai, but Jedova did not allow himself to sleep. He rested but stayed alert. Tokra had retired to rest, nevertheless ready to come if Arya's condition suddenly became worse.

A sudden creak startled Jedova from his calm rest. He observed the Force around himself, pretending sleep while slowly and unnoticeably moving his hands closer to his lightsaber. There was an intruder in the small facility.

Jedova recognized the signature in the Living Force. It was the very same man who had attacked them near Owylkai's place. Jedova waited for the right moment to strike; he had only one shot to stop the man.

Obtuse footsteps were heard. The Jedi Master prepared himself. The intruder was getting closer, and his footsteps were becoming more careful. And he did not see in the dark unlike Jedova, whom the Force granted enough vision to move around without hitting anything.

The footsteps were now behind him. Jedova sensed the intruder holding a knife, but it was not supposed to be used at him; not at least yet. The targets were Arya and Owylkai. And since Owylkai slept in the room past Arya's bed, the intruder had decided to kill the girl off at first, and maybe even Jedova too, if the Jedi Master would wake up.

But the intruder had no idea that the Jedova was fully awake and ready to face him already.

The intruder had got to the side of Arya's bed, ready to stab right into the small girl's heart. Jedova sprung from his chair, tackling the intruder down, trying to make enough noise to alert everyone else. The intruder - even taller than him, as Jedova noticed – started stabbing the Jedi Master wherever he just could hit. Jedova tried to keep him down, but through the pain he realized that the intruder would get away soon.

"Hey, what's goin – AAH!" Owylkai's sleepy voice turned into a shriek as the intruder kicked Jedova to abdomen, pushed the Jedi Master away, got up and attempted to kill the Bimm.

A shot sounded. The intruder fell. Owylkai retreated in shock.

Jedova caught his breath and ignored the pain. He had sensed death in the Force.

It became evident that Tokra had shot the intruder. The Bimm doctor held a blaster in his hands, but put it away to turn on the lights in order to see Jedova's injuries.  
"He's dead," Jedova said.  
"He tried to kill you," Tokra noted as he looked at the stabs on Jedova's back, right side and shoulder.  
"He was targeting Arya and Owylkai. I only happened to wake up when he sneaked in. I attempted to stop him," Jedova told.  
"He found us? Here?" Owylkai asked. He did not dare to go past the now dead intruder, no matter how dead he already was.  
"Can any of you tell anything of him by his face? Maybe someone you know? Someone who has been here or could somehow know to come here to seek us in a situation like this?" Arya asked.  
"He... He is face down now so I really don't know," Owylkai noted.  
"By what I can see now, he does not seem familiar to me," Tokra told and turned to look at the Padawan. "How are you feeling?"  
"I'd love to get up, but my fingers really aren't strong enough to do that," Arya told and grimaced while moving her fingers impatiently. "This is worse than even Master Yoda's patience exercises. No one _ever_ tried to kill me there."  
"Murder attempts really do not belong to them, indeed," Jedova remarked.  
"I... I will call the security forces," Owylkai stuttered. He rushed past the intruder and to the communication devices. He did not leave them after calling some officers.

By the time the security officers had come and taken the body away, Arya had managed to cross her arms. Yet she had a feeling that she would be stuck in bed for another day.

 **/Star Wars (c) Lucasfilm, any characters you cannot find on Wookieepedia, Veledos, Veledosians and their language (c) Me/**


	13. Chapter 12

The sun rose. No one had recognized the intruder and no one had been able to sleep anymore. Owylkai was even more nervous now, and he refused to leave the Jedi's side. Tokra had patched up Jedova's wounds and Arya waited impatiently as she slowly started to feel her legs. Tarak had ordered some security guards to guard the facility.

Arya, in order to pass time and ease Owylkai's anxiousness, started to talk about pretty much everything from some pranks she had pulled on her friends or some random passerby when she had been younger and more immature to some very old legends she had read about when doing some research in the Jedi Archives. Jedova did not recall hearing about any of them.  
"You see, Master, I go for the old _folktales_ and not the mainstream stuff one usually sees," Arya noted. "Many Veledosian folktales are tribe-bound, or even family-bound. Many such have been lost when families have been extinguished..."

Arya's eyes seemed to dim for a moment as she thought of _The Poisoning of Veledos_ , which had taken most of those folktales away from the universe. As Jedova had listened to the girl, it seemed to him that Arya had a seemingly unending interest for old folktales and legends. It also seemed like trying to grasp those folktales was a way which Arya used to get some sort of a connection or glimpse on Veledos before it was lost.

The dimness in Arya's eyes lasted only for a small moment. Then the usual light returned and Arya kept on talking as if no pause had been in her lecture about the old folktales of people called Gario. Jedova had not heard of this folk either, even though he had taken a big chunk of his free time to study different species of the universe.  
"They're not ones you see in the known galaxy," Arya responded to this. "They've been away from here since times before Veledos was ever discovered by the Republic."  
"But the Jedi knew about them, right?" Jedova asked.  
"Very few had some idea of where the Gario Jedi – there was ever just one or even two of them at a time in the Order – came from but no one else than the Veledosian Jedi themselves knew where it was," Arya told.

Jedova knew that he could never know at least something about every folk of the galaxy, but the fact that a young and inexperienced Padawan learner like Arya knew something about a folk that had not ever been seen or even _heard of_ in the Republic felt like a shock to him.

He decided that once they'd return back to the Jedi Temple, he'd see if there was any information on the Gario in the Jedi Archives. If there was any information about them, aside from Veledosian sources like Arya, the information would be there.

Like back when the girl had been five, the way how Arya just knew things did, in some odd way, scare him deep to his core. And now he would be bound to this girl for about a decade. They would form a bond, a strong bond if it was up to him.

But Jedova knew that he himself had chosen this girl to be his Padawan. It would not be fair towards Arya to back away now when the girl had gotten her hope of becoming a Jedi Knight back after great doubts. And Jedova knew that if he succeeded in training Arya, the Jedi Order would have a great Jedi for centuries.

The sun started to set. Everyone knew it from the fact that Owylkai got more nervous; the Bimm had sworn to not sleep even an iota, even though the person who had been after his life was already dead.

Arya still did not feel like she was fully capable of getting back to duty, but Tokra had said that she would get up today, and in the name of the Ancients, she _was getting up_ _ **today!**_  
"Arya?" Jedova asked, worried. He sensed that the girl wasn't back to normal yet, even though she was hauling herself up.  
"I am getting up now and that's that!" Arya huffed as she used her hands to push herself up to a sitting position. Jedova grasped her shoulder to make sure the girl did not fall.  
"Do you feel like you can already get up?" Tokra asked as he observed the girl getting up.  
"You said that I'd be able to get up today. And I am getting up today even if it will take hours," Arya growled.  
"Don't push yourself too far, Padawan," Jedova warned.  
"There's no need to worry about me, Master," Arya told.

She felt despair. If getting up was this difficult, how could she get to her feet, let alone walk?

She gritted her teeth and moved her partly numb legs over the edge of the bed and tried to get off it. Jedova held her back.  
"Are you sure you can do it?" the Jedi Master asked.  
"Yeah," Arya muttered. She saw the doubt in his eyes, but neither of them said anything. Jedova held Arya up when she put her weight to her feet.

There was just a very short moment as the girl stood. But then her feet gave up under her and Jedova took all of the girl's little weight to his arms.  
"It seems that you are not ready to leave the sickbed just yet," Tokra told.

Though only Jedova heard it, Arya muttered a Veledosian curse out in frustration.

 **/Star Wars (c) Lucasfilm, any characters you cannot find on Wookieepedia, Veledos, Veledosians and their language (c) Me/**


	14. Chapter 13

Arya gritted her teeth in frustration. She wanted to get off the bed, but ever since collapsing the first time Jedova had demanded her to stay put. The Jedi Master had allowed her to sit, but that was all. Arya knew she was holding them all up, and she felt like a hold-up.

Tokra did whatever he could to help the girl, but nothing seemed to work. Arya felt that her limbs were still too numb. She had once tested her luck by trying to get off her bed from the other side, avoiding her Master's interference. She had just collapsed again. After that Owylkai had sat down to the adjacent bed, ready to stop Arya from getting up from his side. The Padawan, however, had already given up. She could not walk yet.

"So there is not really anyone visiting?" Jedova asked Tokra.  
"No. People tend to go to those who were the doctors of their parents and so on. I'm still quite new here. But since many of my workmates are getting old and retiring, I'm sure people will soon start to come to me when they need a doctor," Tokra told.  
"When did you come here?" Jedova asked.  
"A couple of years ago," Tokra told.  
"You know, this is a bit aloof," Owylkai noted.  
"The best place I could get back then," Tokra replied, shrugging. "Maybe I'll get a better one someday."  
"Someday, yeah," Owylkai muttered.

A couple of hours passed and Tokra left for some errands. Another night came and Jedova could not avoid recognizing some frustration in the tones of the Jedi Councilors when he reported to them; the case of the tampered votes was still unfinished. With thoughts about this, he dozed off. Owylkai noticed this and stayed awake to guard both Jedi. Tokra had not returned yet; he had let them know about an emergency he had to attend to.

A sudden shriek-like wave surged into Arya's senses. She woke up. As she opened her eyes up, she found it difficult to breathe.

 _Something was wrong._

There was no actual shriek, but she felt vaguely like something was screaming to her somewhere deep within the Force. Yet she sensed nothing through it as she peered into it. The shriek only strengthened slightly when she did so. She felt a deep instinct to run away, but she still felt like her legs could not carry her weight.

 _But she had to get away from there!_

"Master? Master! Master, wake up!" she hissed to her sleeping Master.  
"What's wrong?" Owylkai asked as he got up from the bed he was sitting on.  
"We need to get away from here," Arya told as she hauled herself up and reached to shake Jedova. "Master!"

Finally Jedova woke up.  
"What... what is it?" he muttered.  
"We. Need. To. Get. Away. From. Here!" Arya said.  
"Why?" Jedova asked, frowning. "What's wrong?"  
"I really don't know," Arya admitted. "I just sense it. Vaguely, yes, but I can sense it. Master, please trust me!"

Jedova looked into Arya's eyes. Then he looked at Owylkai. "Where's Tokra?"  
"On an emergency," Owylkai told. "He notified me some time ago."  
"Then we need to inform him later," Jedova said and returned his gaze back to Arya. "Can you walk, Padawan?"  
"Yeah," Arya claimed, gritted her teeth and got up on her feet. They felt like jelly. She tried to walk a couple of steps, but Jedova caught her.  
"I can manage," Arya muttered through her teeth.  
"Let me help you, Arya," Jedova said quietly. Arya did not protest by any other means than scowling, which Jedova countered with his own as he took most of the girl's weight to his arms and shoulders.  
"Let's go then," Owylkai muttered. "But where?"  
"Our temporary quarters for our mission," Jedova told and they proceeded to the front door.

The shriek echoed into Arya's senses. Then came a nauseating sense of shortness of breath.  
"Arya?" Jedova asked.

Arya looked at a narrow alley. When she got the idea of it as a possible way to their destination, she could breathe again.

 _Whatever the shriek was, it attempted to be a guide_ , she realized.  
"That way," she gasped and nodded to the alley.  
"Why?" Owylkai asked. "I wouldn't trust streets like that if I were you."  
"I just sense that we should go there," Arya noted.

Jedova gave a short moment of suspicion towards the girl. There was the possibility that Arya was imagining things or having hallucinations. But there was the possibility that she was making this all up just to get moving. Jedova could not sense a threat himself, so he had only Arya's word.

But he had to trust that his Padawan was right and not doing this for herself. No, there had to be a reason for this, something that was not selfish. After all, Arya was a Jedi, taught to act selflessly. And besides, Jedova did not sense any threat coming from the alley. They could just let Arya lead.  
"That way then," Jedova said.

The alley was just wide enough for Jedova and Arya to walk side by side. Jedova could sense Arya's discomfort on having such closeness. Owylkai stayed right behind them, peeking over his shoulder frequently just in case someone would attempt to charge at them from behind.

A warning through the Force reached the Jedi. Something was ahead.  
"It's at the end of the alley. And it's not alone," Jedova murmured. "Owylkai, stay behind us."  
"Consider it done," Owylkai hissed and looked behind his shoulder for XXXth time on the way through the alley.

Arya felt Jedova's grip tighten. She had an instinct to squirm away from it, but she did her best to keep it under control.

There was a group of random sentients ahead, on the street the alley lead to.  
"Drunken people," Jedova muttered. "Stay very close to me, both of you."  
"That shouldn't be too difficult," Arya scoffed. Jedova frowned at her but decided to have a talk about her attitude when they would have more time.

Owylkai looked over his shoulder for one last time. He, along with the Jedi, went as close as possible by the sides of the buildings, hoping to not attract the attention of the drunks.

Their hopes were in vain.

 **/Star Wars (c) Lucasfilm, any characters you cannot find on Wookieepedia, Veledos, Veledosians and their language (c) Me/**


	15. Chapter 14

The group of drunk sentients noticed them. Arya heard Owylkai mutter something she suspected to be a profanity of some sort. Both Jedova and Owylkai moved in front of Arya to protect her as the drunks approached. Arya had heard some things about how people acted when drunk, and was not happy to be in this situation, but she still felt irritated about the fact that she was the one who _had to_ be protected because she could not protect herself. She swallowed all the angry lines she wanted to say out and forced her face to stay neutral. She did not want any more problems than they had already gotten into.  
"Hey, whaddaya have there, behind ya?" asked one of the drunks, a hairless Bimm with an odd accent.  
"What do you want?" Jedova asked evenly. He cursed his never-ending bad luck; it never left him alone. Now if ever was an extremely bad moment to have another misfortune meddling to his path.  
"Just wanna know what such a group as ya three are doin' here at this time," noted a human man. He was even shorter than Owylkai, but a bit taller than Arya.  
"We're on our way home," Jedova told.  
"Ya three live together?" asked the earlier Bimm.  
"We're neighbors," Owylkai added hastily.  
"Ah, ya know, it's dangerous here at this time of the day." said a female human – the only female of the group as far as Jedova saw – and put her hands on the shoulders of the Bimm and the man who had already engaged the conversation. "Whaddaya say if we escort ya there, like to see that ya all make it safely?" She flashed her teeth towards Arya, "I mean, it woulda be a real pity if somethin' happened to that pretty girl yours."

Arya gritted her teeth and tried to keep the red from rising to her face. Owylkai shot a horrified look at Jedova fast.  
"If you want to escort us, you're most welcome to do that," Jedova told calmly. Owylkai wanted to ask if the Jedi Master had lost his mind, but he managed to keep his mouth shut.  
"Then let's go, guys!" the woman shouted. The drunks surrounded the Jedi and Owylkai as a wobbly circle. They went on, both Jedova and Owylkai staying as close to Arya as it was fitting. None of them trusted these drunks.  
"There it is," Jedova noted.

The guard of the dormitories startled as the group of drunks approached. Then he noticed Jedova, who was the tallest of them all. The drunks suddenly stopped and stayed.  
"Thank you for escorting us here," Jedova thanked. Arya and Owylkai nodded as their thanks.  
"No probs! Always glad to help people!" said the woman. "If ya eva need help, just find us!"  
"Just ask around for the group 'Halsters' and the folks know where to direct ya!" said another human, not the same man who had talked earlier.  
"We will keep that in mind," Jedova told and mustered a smile through his worry.

With happy shouts the group wobbled away.  
"Now please tell me... What just happened?" Owylkai muttered.  
"It seems that the luck was on our side this time," Jedova noted and made a face. "I wish this happened to me more often."  
"You know, I've heard a lot but I'd never have believed this would happen," Arya noted.  
"Do not get used to it, Padawan. They were a great exception. It's a rule rather than an exception that interacting with drunk people gives you problems from getting into a fight to... I do not even want think what," Jedova reminded.  
"Of course, Master," Arya said. Her tone was tired; her limbs were starting to feel very heavy. Both the tone and the Living Force notified Jedova about this change. Arya's condition was becoming unstable again.  
"Can you call a medic? I'm afraid Arya's condition is worsening," Jedova asked the guard.  
"Of course. Right away, Master Jedi," the guard told. "Can you make it to your dorms?"  
"Yes, we can," Jedova replied and returned some of Arya's weight back to his shoulders.  
"I will call the closest medic right away," the guard told and took out his comm. link. Jedova went past him with Arya and Owylkai.

Once they had gotten to room 73 which had been given to Arya, the Padawan could barely stand anymore. She lay down to her bed, trying to not lose her consciousness. It did not take more than about five standard minutes for the medic, a woman named Tate, to arrive there.  
"How is she feeling?" she asked.  
"Getting worse," Jedova told and looked at Arya; the girl's breathing seemed arduous and her eyes were closed.

Tate motioned the men to stand aside as she examined Arya.  
"When did the poisoning occur?" she asked.  
"Just two days ago. But according to Tokra she should've fully recovered already," Jedova told.  
"Tokra?" Tate asked with a high tone; she was shocked to hear that. "Tokra has been treating her poisoning?"  
"Yes," Jedova answered evenly, though he gave a confused look towards Owylkai. "What about that?"  
"He's not really your good medic around here," Tate told.  
"I've never had anything to complain about his treatments!" Owylkai objected.  
"That's just it. He can make them seem like they work, but they do not. He's been fooling his patients for a good while," Tate told.  
"Then why is he still working?" Jedova asked, trying to keep the horror from creeping to his mind. _Had he been fooled about his apprentice's health and wellbeing?!_  
"He avoids anyone and everyone who tries to stop him. And as his patients do not find a reason to complain, we cannot find him," Tate told. "There is still Temenneree drug in your apprentice's veins. A good amount of it. And also something else, which is destabilizing her condition. She has not been treated for the poisoning at all."

Both Jedova and Owylkai went pale.  
"I swear to you, Jedova, I swear by everything that's possible to be sworn by, that I had absolutely no idea about this," Owylkai told frantically. Jedova looked at the horrified Bimm. He had sensed nothing alerting about Tokra. He could not blame Owylkai for this.  
"It's not your fault. I sensed nothing alerting, so I cannot blame you," he told.  
"That's also one of Tokra's tricks, so I've heard. He uses some form of a smell-less fume to dull any senses which work through the Force. A Jedi team uncovered this a year ago," Tate told.  
"A Jedi team? Who?" Jedova asked.  
"As far as I recall from what I have heard, there was someone named Dooku and his apprentice," Tate reminisced.  
"Qui-Gon was on a mission here about a year ago. But he was sent to another mission so soon that he never got to tell pretty much anything, just some weird stuff. We all forgot about it then," Arya mumbled. "He just said that it was not too exciting." The girl snorted weakly and mustered a smile. "Funny how we might've fallen for the same trick..."  
"So this is not a new problem," Owylkai sighed. "I wish I had known."  
"There was no way you could have," Tate reminded.

Owylkai nodded.  
"Can you help Arya?" Jedova asked.  
"I already injected an antidote to her veins. She will be fine in a few hours," Tate told. "But she may have sustained permanent damage already. Temenneree is very unpredictable and dangerous on children."

Suddenly Jedova felt like he had a frog in his throat. He only managed to nod. Tate turned to look at Owylkai.  
"But when it comes to you, I should have you more properly examined now to determine the drugs you have been predisposed to," she told.  
"Sure," Owylkai said flatly. He actually wanted to have a real medic see about him. Who knew what Tokra had done to him?  
"Call me if your apprentice's state worsens," Tate told Jedova.  
"Of course," Jedova replied weakly. He still could not – or maybe he did not even _want to_ – believe that they had all been perfectly fooled by Tokra. Tate and Owylkai exited the room in order to make their way to Tate's clinic and Jedova sat to the edge of Arya's bed. He could not tell whether the girl was asleep or unconscious; Tate had put her to recovery position just in case.

Without any conscious thinking Jedova reached to caress Arya's cheek with the backside of his forefinger.  
"I'm so sorry, Padawan," he whispered, "I'm so sorry."

Arya did not answer, but Jedova could feel a small flicker of thought in the Force. It felt like Arya had wanted to say, _It's ok, Master. I understand._

 _ **/Star Wars (c) Lucasfilm, any characters you cannot find on Wookieepedia, Veledos, Veledosians and their language (c) Me/**_


	16. Chapter 15

_In the morning_

Jedova did not remember falling asleep. Yet the sunlight that met his eyelids woke him up and he found himself lying on the bed on his side. He lifted himself up so that he could sit and tried to recall the last thing he remembered. He only recalled watching over Arya as the girl slept.

He looked to the direction where Arya was. She was on her left side, back towards him.  
"Arya?" Jedova called with a low volume. Arya turned her head to look at him.  
"Oh, you already woke up, Master," she said. She sat up. Jedova could notice some weakness on her movements; she seemed to have recovered, but Temenneree had let its traces.  
"How are you feeling, Padawan?" Jedova asked.  
"Very good," Arya answered and smiled brightly. Yet the weakness in her told them both that it was only half true at the best.  
"That's great to hear!" Jedova said, ignoring the fact that his apprentice tried to cover up the fact that she was not fully recovered. He was too relieved to hear and see that his apprentice was getting better even though Arya was still weakened to care. The Jedi healers would have to check her once they returned to Coruscant. Before that, he would have to hope that whatever damage Arya had gotten would not be permanent.

Arya did not ask for help, but Jedova gave her just a little bit of support as she faltered while getting up on her feet.  
"No need to worry about me, Master. I'm fine," Arya reassured.  
"I will be worried until we know whether you have sustained permanent damage or not," Jedova told calmly. He knew he had been through a lot, but he did not want to add losing a Padawan on their first mission together to that list. Or losing Padawan at any time, as a matter of fact.

Arya seemed to understand that.

Jedova contacted Tarak. The Bimm politician told them to get there as soon as it was reasonable, given Arya's condition. Jedova walked on a very slow pace, but even that seemed to be a bit too much to Arya: not only that the Padawan was not used to such speed yet, her feet were shorter than Jedova's and thus she had to take almost two steps for one of Jedova's normal strides. Jedova slowed down even more and shortened his steps. Arya never complained and she did her best to keep a tough face, but it was visible that she was having hard time keeping up with her Master.

Once they made it, a good amount of politicians had already gathered there. Many took an interested glance at the Padawan, who refrained from hiding behind her Master in embarrassment. Arya was not used to this kind of attention.  
"So you're feeling better now, young one," Arajah said, smiling in a friendly way. Arya nodded but stayed silent.  
"What is going on?" Jedova asked.  
"Tokra," Tarak told. "Medic Tate Shad came to give her statement a while ago. She has examined the drug Owylkai Dora was under while voting. Everything says 'Tokra'. This can't go on anymore. He must be caught now."

Jedova nodded. Personally, he was not interested about the vote, but Tokra had endangered lives of innocent people. It had to stop.

But Jedova was concerned about how much Arya could do. Not only that the girl did not have the strength Jedova had gotten during the decades of service as a Jedi, but Arya was also weak from whatever the Temenneree drug had done to her. He had to talk with his Padawan before they continued their mission.  
"So you need us to go after him?" he asked.  
"Yes, Master Jedi. Medic Shad can fill you in about where to go to look for him," Tarak told. "Her clinic is across the road. Please go."  
Jedova and Arya bowed and left the politicians to discuss about the topic or whatever they were going to talk about.

As they walked on, Jedova sent an inquiry through the Force to Arya to find out how much the girl could do right now. The answer he got was vague and gave no information; he had expected very little due to the lack of an actual bond between them, but even though Arya had answered him, she had not done that. She had told nothing.  
"Things will get rough from now on. Should we think of a different approach on this?" Jedova asked.  
"I know what your 'different approach' is for this, Master," Arya said bitterly. "I'm perfectly fine and I can definitely pull this off."

Jedova scowled. Arya's prejudice was new to him, but it did offend him. And it offended him a lot.  
"Now what is my different approach then, Padawan?" he asked.  
"You send me back to Coruscant and continue here alone," Arya told and turned her head to stare right into her Master's eyes. "I am not going home like the loser I have been for these last two years."

The bitterness, the anger, the frustration Arya held. All those things which would lead her to the Dark Side very easily. She was suddenly so open about it all that Jedova struggled to not let his astonishment show. What had he been thinking when he had chosen Arya as his Padawan?

He recalled thinking about Arya's potential and his own fate in her age. But had it been all? Had he not taken anything else into account?

At this very moment he felt like he was stuck with an ill-mannered Padawan. His connection to the Unifying Force was so small that it was considered non-existent, yet still he could see himself sending Arya back to Coruscant just to keep her safe, and see the girl openly defy him. It would get ugly. Very ugly.

It seemed that it would be the best to just keep Arya alongside him as long as it was reasonable in any way.

They got down to the street and walked to Tate's clinic. The medic was already waiting for them.  
"How are you?" she asked Arya.  
"I'm fine, thanks for asking," Arya responded politely. Now there was not even a trace of her frustration in her demeanor.  
"Tarak told us that you have some leads on where Tokra could be," Jedova told. "By the way, where is Owylkai?"  
"He is under protection. Tokra may be targeting him next now that he has shot the person whom he had told to go and drug Owylkai," Tate answered. Jedova nodded.  
"Tokra's clinic was burned down very soon after you left it. It may be that he tried to get rid of you all. He has gotten new buildings, it seems. At least these two were claimed yesterday right before the burning of his clinic," Tate told and showed the buildings' positions from a datapad. "Can you split up to check them out simultaneously?"  
"I think Arya is not-" Jedova started.  
"If I sense Tokra there, I will contact you immediately, Master," Arya promised. Jedova took a look at her. When they had made their way to the medic, there had been a stubborn and ill-mannered Padawan by his side. But now, suddenly, there was an enthusiastic and devoted Padawan. After the abrupt expression of bitterness Arya tried to prove herself.

The will in the girl's eyes seemed to rival that of what Jedova had seen on the voting day, when Arya had put her enthusiasm under control. He felt like it was a gamble, but he decided to give Arya a chance.  
"If you meet Tokra, or anyone associated with him, do not engage before I arrive," he told strictly. "I don't want you to get poisoned again on this mission."  
"Understood, Master," Arya replied with strength that stemmed from a strong devotion. Jedova could not help wondering how long that devotion would last.  
"You go to this one, while I go to that one which is farther away," Jedova told.  
"Be careful," Tate said quietly. "Tokra may at least attempt to mess your senses up if you get too close."

The Jedi nodded, said their farewells and left. They parted ways to go to their different destinations.

Jedova could not help fearing he had just made a horrible mistake.

 **/Star Wars (c) Lucasfilm, any characters you cannot find on Wookieepedia, Veledos, Veledosians and their language (c) Me/**


	17. Chapter 16

Arya felt her strength silently leave her legs as she made her way to the building. She could not make sense of her feelings now that she was alone and without anything that would provoke something more to come into the mess she called her mind. She knew she had to apologize to her Master for her behavior. But it had to wait now. She had to prioritize; inspecting the building needed to be top priority for now.

The building Tokra seemingly had claimed did not seem different from any of those around it. There seemed to be nothing notable according to Arya's senses. Before she could do anything else than just look around with and without the Force, her comlink beeped. Her Master was already contacting her.  
"I'm listening, Master," Arya answered.  
"There seems to be nothing here. Is there anything at your location?" Jedova's voice came out.  
"I don't sense anything," Arya told and started to turn her head to look through the window. "But I'll look through the window to see – HOLY SHIT!"

Arya jumped and dashed across the road, nearly getting hit by a speeder.  
"Arya? Padawan, do you copy?" Jedova called out.  
"Master, get here. And fast, please," Arya whispered as she creeped into the shadows to be out of sight. "Arya out."

Jedova did not hesitate to run no matter how badly bystanders looked at him. With the Force aiding him, it took him just about three minutes to get to Arya. He sensed her before he saw her shadow.  
"What happened?" he asked.  
"He was at the window, staring at me. Or... I don't know if it was him, but there was someone staring at me, like, straight at the window," Arya told, her voice still shaking. She did not come out of her hiding place. "It... startled me."  
"I could hear that," Jedova remarked dryly.  
"Sorry," Arya whimpered as she looked at the ground. Even though she came to the sunlight, her feet shaking, she could not look her Master in the eye.  
"Do you think whoever was there ran off already?" Jedova asked. He kept his voice even. It would be just asking for trouble to upset Arya more.  
"Most likely," Arya told and turned her head towards the building. "Either way it's a trap."  
"Of course it is. I'm going in. Stay here," Jedova said.  
"I will come with you, Master," Arya said, trying to put on a brave face even though she was still shaken and frightened. Jedova sighed and was just about to deny that when Arya continued, "If I just stay aside, I will never learn anything."

 _That was a good point_ , Jedova had to admit, _but this certainly is too dangerous for a 12-year-old girl._  
"Master, please. I will behave and do whatever you say."  
"You promise that?"  
"A Veledosian's promise. You can't get past that. Maybe."

Jedova lifted his right eyebrow as he turned to look at Arya. He saw some newfound mirth on her pale face.  
"Fine, this once. But after this is over, we will have a discussion about your behavior. Do you understand that?" he said.  
"Of course I do, Master," Arya answered evenly.  
"Let's go then."

They crossed the road safely. Arya gritted her teeth. She felt like she had started to walk right into messing what was her only chance to ever become a Jedi Knight. She wanted to cling to her Master's arm and stop him from going in there. She knew she had to trust the Jedi Master's judgement but she did not feel like walking into a trap was a good idea.

The door was left open. Arya wanted to open her mouth and say that they should not go there but she knew she had to behave. Jedova looked into her eyes. He could see the uncertainty. Arya had put a tough expression on her face, a surprisingly perfect mask no one could ever recognize as a mask. Not if they did not look into the eyes. The eyes always betrayed everyone, no matter how well they masked their expression.  
"Are you ready?" Jedova's voice's volume was just above whisper. Arya nodded, trying to make her face look even surer about this than it already seemed. But even though the robe hid it, Jedova noticed Arya's arms trembling briefly in a way that indicated that Arya had squeezed her hands into fists.

Jedova did not show that he had noticed this all. He just nodded and went in. Arya followed right behind him.

When something hit his chest with force and pushed him to the wall all of a sudden, knocking all the air out of his lungs, Jedova was glad that he had decided to take Arya with him. His vision was all blurry but he heard the Padawan shout something out over the whirr of the girl's green blade. He sensed that she summoned the Force to aid her.

Arya had been bested by six younger Jedi Initiates at Force exercises at the Exhibition Day. She felt like it had been a good while ago even though even a week had not gone by after that. Nevertheless, she was determined to do her best. It was not a hell-bent "I have to do this, I have to be the best at this" determination she had branded to her heart, but a new kind of determination. This was the kind of determination she had forgotten a long time ago. It was the determination of doing what was right, what she needed to do, what she _wanted_ to do. The Force flowed through her, giving her orders. She moved along with its flow, driving Tokra to a corner.

Arya knew she could not last long. She tried to see if her Master had already recovered, but she could not turn her head. Her concentration was fully taken by avoiding the fists and needles of the false medic.

Then Tokra tripped and fell to his rear. Jedova stood up and rushed to the other end of the room, where Tokra had lead the Padawan while retreating before the blade. He was afraid of Arya using her lightsaber to stop Tokra for good, but as he got there, he saw Arya keeping her lightsaber steady in front of Tokra.  
"Tokra, under the law of the Galactic Republic, you are under arrest," Jedova said.  
"Be glad that this is just a training lightsaber," Arya muttered to Tokra as she deactivated her lightsaber.

Jedova did not let his surprise show, but he did get astonished by the fact that Arya had been on this mission with a _training_ lightsaber. That fault had to be corrected once they had returned to Coruscant. Jedova lifted Tokra up, made sure that he had nothing he could use against them and walked him to where the security forces were waiting.  
"You made that Temenneree drug, did you not?" Arya asked Tokra.  
"Why, yes," Tokra answered lightly and flashed his teeth. "I fooled you well, did I not?"  
"Where did you find the recipe?" Arya asked.  
"You will never find out," Tokra said, still keeping his complaisant tone.  
"Tell me," Arya murmured threateningly. Jedova frowned at her, but Arya ignored it.  
"Go and find out. A Veledosian like you should be able to do that," Tokra said.  
"You bet I will", Arya growled, turned her back to him and returned to the building.  
"We will take him from here," said the security guard to Jedova.  
"Thank you," the Jedi Master replied and went after his Padawan.

He found Arya breaking into the datapad Tokra had left there.  
"Arya?" he asked.  
"That information has to be found and destroyed. I don't want this to happen ever again," Arya said. "I do wonder why all the information has not been destroyed already."  
"Maybe it was put somewhere which cannot be destroyed," Jedova suggested.  
"There... Yes, you're right, Master. That _churf_ Sith carved it all to a piece of Soulium alloy which is pretty much as strong as Mandalorian iron, I believe," Arya noted. "It was guarded for some time, but then abandoned. It's so strong in the Dark side that no one wanted to go there."  
"Is there any location?" Jedova asked.  
"No. And it had better be that way, too," Arya told and shut the datapad down. "I'm done with this now. Shall we leave now or do you have something?"  
"Let's go and inform the politicians about our success. Hopefully we get to say goodbyes to Owylkai and get back to the Jedi Temple. We have a lot to be fixed and talked about," Jedova told.

Arya nodded. She was glad to follow her Master.

They did not get to say goodbyes to Owylkai, but Tate promised to deliver their message to him. Jedova did smirk as he thought that those two may have gotten something going on between each other. The Jedi boarded the transport to Coruscant.  
"It will be good to get home now," Jedova said.  
"Yeah, Gomorrah and everyone must be real worried. They might think that I've already left the Order," Arya said.  
"Did you not tell them about going on a mission?" Jedova asked, surprised.  
"Tahl was sent to a mission earlier that day so she did not have time to talk and I could not find Gomorrah anywhere. And everyone else were on missions already," Arya told.  
"Well then, I suppose we need to go and find them first after we get there," Jedova said.  
"I agree, Master," Arya said.

The ship started its engines and got off the ground. Arya still remembered her first time on a starship. She could not forget any of that time.

She felt very happy that she was now sure that she had not left and done that all for nothing.

 **/Star Wars (c) Lucasfilm, any characters you cannot find on Wookieepedia, Veledos, Veledosians and their language (c) Me/**


End file.
